The seventh edition of the Al Jazeera Balkans International Documentary Film Festival (AJB DOC) opened September 13 at the Bosnian Cultural Center (BKC) in Sarajevo with a regional premiere of Where the Olive Trees Weep by Zaya and Maurizio Benazzo, about life under Israeli occupation. The festival runs to September 17.
Following the AJB DOC video retrospective on previous festival editions, Festival director Edhem Fočo addressed the audience, pointing out that this year’s theme ‘Justice?’ is present across all facets of the festival.
“The disturbing fact was that the world remained silent, watching everything that happened in Gaza or openly sided with the oppressor or those doing the injustice. The under-representation of this topic naturally led us to focus on films portraying the injustices faced by Palestinians for decades,” said Fočo.
After a video presentation of this year’s AJB DOC selection, Ahmed Mahfouz, Director of the Al Jazeera Documentary Channel, addressed the audience, officially opening the Festival. “I would like to congratulate and thank Tarik Đođić, the Managing Director of Al Jazeera Balkans Channel, Edhem Fočo, the Director of the AJB DOC Festival, as well as all involved in the organisation, our partners, and of course, the audience, as the most important supporter of the Festival,” said Mahfouz.
“The AJB DOC Film Festival, as well as the AJD Industry Days, organized during the Festival for the third year in a row, are already recognised and well-known in the world of documentary film,” he added.
Where the Olive Trees Weep, directed by Zaya and Maurizio Benazzo, represents “a touching and poignant documentary about the struggles and resilience of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation in the West Bank,“ the festival underlines. After the screening, the audience discussed the film with journalist, therapist and protagonist Ashira Darwish. “The world has become more aware of Israel’s cruelty and outright evil,“ Darwish said to the opening night audience.
Over the coming days, the festival audience will have the chance to watch 23 high-quality documentaries presented across five programme selections: Competition, AJB Screening, Last Minute Cinema, SmartDoc, and Special Screening. “The films share stories about the injustices experienced by Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, as well as other pressing social issues from all over the world,“ organisers write.
Screenings will take place at the Bosnian Cultural Center (BKC) and Cineplexx Sarajevo. Detailed information, with the screening schedule and film synopses, is available on the festival website.
An international five-member jury will choose the best film from the Competition Programme. The jury members are Deborah London-Harrington, a documentary filmmaker and Head of Production Management at Dogwoof; Namik Kabil, a film director and writer; Mila Turajlić, a documentary filmmaker; Francesco Montagner, a documentary filmmaker; and Myriam Francois, a journalist and documentary filmmaker.
