Gaza Strip explored in films

by Rafael Gallegos

Daily Lobo

The South West Film Center will show two hard-hitting films about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict this weekend.

"Gaza Strip," by James Longley, is a documentary about life in the open-air prison in the Gaza Strip. Fueled by a desire to find out more than what CNN dictated to him, Longley spent several months in the Occupied Territories in 2001 -- a time when Ariel Sharon was elected Prime Minister of Israel.

What he came up with was a cinema variety style non-narrative documentary that shows more than tells. The film follows a 13-year-old paperboy and life under Israeli military occupation.

After rejections from HBO and The Sundance Channel among other mainstream media outlets, "Gaza Strip" has found a home this weekend at the South West Film Center.

Also playing this weekend is "Area K," a film by Nadav Harel and Ramon Bloomberg. The film takes its name from the Israeli controlled military zone that prevents Palestinian fishermen from entering international waters. It follows a business partnership between a clan of Palestinian fishermen from the refugee camps in the Gaza Strip and their Israeli counterparts in Dugit, who arrange permits for Palestinian fishers.

The film points out that in the Gaza Strip there are 1,500 fishing boats for the 40-kilometer coastline and fish know no borders. Many families go hungry.

"Area K" is a film that transcends politics and takes a unique look at the conflict in the Middle East by saying that Arabs and Jews alike are fishermen and they both want to eat. Winner of the Brooklyn and San Francisco International Film Festivals, "Area K" is a must see this weekend.

It's possible to see both "Gaza Strip" and "Area K" in the same night, but you have to turn off your corporate-controlled CNN. "Gaza Strip" runs Friday at 9 p.m., Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 9 p.m.

"Area K" plays on Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 9 p.m. and Sunday at 7 p.m. The South West Film Center is in room 2018 of the Center for the Arts.