The Palestinian journalist, documentary filmmaker and filmmaker Ahmad Al-Bazz (West Bank, 31 years old) has added a new recognition to his extensive record of achievements. Although the white camel – a symbol of peace in the Sahrawi culture – that has been awarded to him as the producer of the film 200 metersdirected by Ameen Nayfeh and winner of the 18th edition of the FiSahrara International Film Festival, is not a statuette that you can display on a shelf in your home in the city of Nablus. “I will donate it to a family,” she decides quickly, still holding the animal with a rope, next to the stage of the event held in Auserd. The place is one of the five communities that Sahrawi refugees built on Algerian land, with the same name as the cities in Western Sahara that they abandoned in 1975, when Morocco annexed what until then had been the 53rd Spanish province.
Although it was not in his plans to return to the West Bank with a camel, Al Bazz was able to receive it and briefly own the animal. Almost a miracle, he considers, considering that permission to travel arrived just hours before his flight from Jordan took off for Algeria. With his camera and a tripod slung over his shoulder, the filmmaker has dedicated his stay in Auserd to walking and documenting the inhospitable landscape of the hamada, to talking to Sahrawi families about their history of exile, their desires for another life and political demands, and to observe the firmament that the low light pollution in the desert offers. “I don’t think I’ll ever see a sky like that again.”
Ask. Do you think that cinema contributes to showing the rest of the world the reality of oppressed peoples?
Answer. I make documentaries because I like to share stories, educate and raise awareness among local people, those from the Global South, such as the Sahrawi people, and the international public. That has been my job as a photographer and, sometimes, as a journalist. Raising awareness is important, but it is not enough. Unfortunately, the world is not so romantic or so peaceful. Education has to translate into actions at some point.
Q. You say that knowledge alone is not enough, but do you think your work achieves the goal of raising awareness?
R. Look at what has happened in American universities (in reference to the pro-Palestinian protests). I wonder how those people changed. I don’t know the real answer, but it could be movies, social media, conferences. There are no magic solutions for colonized places. Sometimes I experience moments of disappointment, but I always come back to the realization that we have to persist.
Q. Why did you opt for writing and images?
R. When I was in high school, I was interested in politics and I said to myself: ‘I’m going to do film and journalism so I can turn this interest into knowledge production.’ And that’s what I’ve been doing since I graduated in 2015. I focus on Palestinian-Israeli issues, and I write for media outlets that express where their political stance is, that don’t pretend to be neutral, including some Palestinian-Israeli platforms that are against of Israeli colonialism. This way I feel like I can contribute.
Q. Is that why you decided to support the production of the film? 200 meters?
R. It is the first feature film by Ameen Nayfeh, who is a good friend. His house is about 150 meters from the wall and his family is separated on both sides. He has lived it since he was little and has reflected a lot on it until he decided to turn it into a film. It’s a very simple story, road movie of a Palestinian father who tries to reach his family by using smugglers to jump over the wall. It is a fiction that reflects the problem of the wall that divides Palestine and Israel. He asked me to participate and now he is the producer of my first professional documentary.
Q. What is it about?
R. Its titled Donkey Boys (the donkey boys). It is the story of five twenty-somethings who are former prisoners, which is normal in Palestine. They get out of prison, go to university and buy donkeys to start a walking business. This way we learn about everyday life, unemployment and youth in a very fun way; It is an apolitical story. It should be released this summer.
Raising awareness is important, but it is not enough; Unfortunately, the world is not so romantic or so calm
Q. What do you think of the two-state solution?
R. The original Palestinian proposal was not independence and the creation of a separate state called Palestine. The main proposition, from 1948 until the end of the seventies, was a democratic State for all. Thus you decolonize the entire territory, the people, Palestinians and Jews, are freed from Zionism, and everyone can live in a democratic State. It’s the best, because you have seven million Israelis and seven million Palestinians living in all parts of the country. I live in a place called Nablus, which is surrounded by settlements. What is the proposal, displace people again to create Palestine and Israel? It’s never going to work. The two-state solution talked about in the media does not work on the map. The easiest thing is a new place where we are all equal on paper. And, of course, the refugees have to return.
Q. Do you think coexistence, the end of hatred, is possible?
R. We are now moving away from any solution. But in any decolonization process, as happened in South Africa, there is a transition period. It begins with courts to try war criminals, with agrarian reforms to solve the land problem, decolonize wealth. And also psychological treatment. I’m not suggesting it’s magic, but it’s a process we have to start at some point. The question is how to get to that moment. The Israelis are already winning and they don’t need a solution, they already control everything. And if you apply the one-state solution, it means the destruction of Israel’s dream of a Jewish-majority state. It is a demographic issue that I would have no problem with if it settled on an empty island, but it is at my expense as a Palestinian who lives there.
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