VISIT BETHLEHEM
ART / ACTIVISM / POLITICS
ART/ ACTIVISM/ POLITICS/
FUTURE IMPOSSIBLE
COMING SOON...
‘Future Impossible', a short film aiming to start a conversation on mental health for young Palestinians.
The future is an impossible hope to imagine. The pandemic is only one of the obstacles young Palestinians are facing and only one of the causes that is pushing us into isolation. Extreme poverty, unemployment, 40% imprisonment for men, constant threat of death, the continuing annexation of the West Bank and rising global temperatures that are pushing summers into constant extreme heat.
There is nothing normal about being a young Palestinian and yet the international community constantly expect us to be resilient, reasonable and embody hope. And in our own communities it is a taboo to talk about anxiety, depression and vulnerability. We are expected to be tough, to focus on resistance and hide emotion which is seen as weakness.
‘Future Impossible’ is a call to begin talking, to show our vulnerability and acknowledge the complex emotions that come from a life under brutal military occupation before we loose another life to suicide.
Directed by Ahmed Tobasi
Camera by Mohammed Mouwia
Written and performed by Mahmoud Abu Aita, Motasem Abu Hasan, Rose Biblos,
Momen Sadi, Jamal Joos, Ehab Abed, Khalid Faraj, Shatha Yasin, Omar Felfel,
Produced by The Freedom Theatre in collaboration with Creative Destruction
PRODUCED BY LIVERPOOL ARAB ARTS FESTIVAL
A new programme led by some of the most exciting artists from the MENA region, addressing the most pressing and complexed conversations of this moment.
ARTS, IDENTITY & SOLIDARITY
18:00 - 19:00 - FRIDAY 10th JULY
Identity brings with it much complexity. No one has just one identity including race, heritage, class, sex and gender. This can impact our experience and the art we create. It can also have consequences for artists and their communities. Expressing who you are, what you believe in and where you are from can be fraught with tension, risk and threat.
How we can build a community to support each other, celebrate difference and strengthen solidarity across countries, cultures and communities?
I AM HERE, ARTISTS WORKING UNDER ISOLATION
18:00 - 19:00 - WEDNESDAY 15th JULY
As independent artists around the world feel the impact of the coronavirus we explore the isolation that Arab artists already face due to borders, censorship, war and imprisonment and how they navigate these obstacles. There is often little funding, and little support from institutions or government.
As part of this we look to launch a global campaign, I Am Here, identifying artists in the MENA region and diaspora and their work across the globe. As a festival and with partner organisations, our focus is in the importance of visibility in sharing understanding and empathy.
CONFLICT, COLONIALISM & THE CLIMATE CRISIS
18:00 - 19:00 - FRIDAY 17th JULY
How is the climate crisis affecting communities that are already experiencing the destruction of their environments and land due to conflict and colonialism?
How are artists in the MENA region approaching these multiple narratives around crisis whilst creating space to imagine a better future?
THE REVOLUTION'S PROMISE
PRODUCED BY CREATIVE DESTRUCTION
IN COLLABORATION WITH THE FREEDOM THEATRE
Creative Destruction, in collaboration with The Freedom Theatre, invites friends, activists and artists around the world to join a global collaboration highlighting the cultural fight for justice, equality and self determination in Palestine.
As part of this initiative we will be creating a script ‘The Revolution’s Promise’, a collection of personal stories from Palestinian artists who have worked on the frontline of cultural resistance. This script will be made available for free for anyone across the globe to stage readings or performances.
In the next year we aim to connect to anyone--individuals and organisations--interested in staging a performance or making their own creative response.
We hope you will join us in this global uprising set to begin in one years time on the 4th April 2021, to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the murder Juliano Mer Khamis, Artistic Director and Co-founder of The Freedom Theatre.
If you are interested in joining the collaboration or staying updated on further developments please email: with TRP in thesubject or stay tuned on social media.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO
CREATED BY WALEED AKHTAR & ZOE LAFFERTY
'How do we know when we need to be braver or when something is just a terrible idea?'
Want to do something to fight the climate crisis but not sure where to start? Terrified of being branded a hypocrite, a public laughing stock or destroying your relationship with your family?
From prosecution, to a political campaign, and a shot gun wedding this personal journey explores joining the fight against the climate crisis and all the things that go wrong when you take action without thinking.
Funny, absurd and often painful, this personal narrative holds no answers but is an excellent place to start if you don’t want to make some terrible mistakes.
‘Hypocrite’ - Jim Norton, Dailymail
Sound Design by Annie Fletcher
Light Design by Joseph Ed Thomas
A work in progress, made with the help of friends and the assistance of the audience.
PERFORMED & BASED ON THE LIFE OF OSAMA AL AZZA
'When we have a martyr we consider it a wedding. We sing during invasions. And we dance under curfew'
A true story, told by a clown, living under military occupation, performed in the streets, alleyways and tunnels of Vault Festival.
When a group of tourists visit Bethlehem the last thing they expect is a tour of Palestine’s smallest refugee camp. Inspired by Osama’s true story ‘Visit Bethlehem’ is a fun yet brutal exploration of the highs and lows of one young clown living under military occupation.
Osama is from Al Azza refugee camp in Bethlehem, Palestine. He grew up living under military occupation with tear gas, bullets, nightly curfews and army invasions. His dream is to be a professional clown but with few chances to make money he ends up taking tourists around the birth place of Jesus, the Church of the Nativity. One day he snaps and decides to take his group of visitors to his refugee camp ten minutes down the road and show them the conditions that Palestinians really live under.
