Pedestrian

In October, I was lucky enough to attend the first Toronto Palestine Film Festival.

Unfortunately, I only found out about it the last day.

Fortunately, I saw two superb movies: U.S.A vs. Sami Al Ariyan and for the closing ceremonies, Slingshot Hip Hop: a documentary by Jackie Reem Salloum which traces the history and development of Palestinian Hip Hop in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Strip from the time DAM pioneered the art form in the late 1990s.

The movie was screened to a packed house in Bloor Cinema and Jackie was kind enough to stick around after the screening and answer our questions.

It took her five years to make this film, and having no access to the Gaza strip, she would continuously leave film and cameras to be taken there and brought out again.

“These groups are all restricted physically by the Israeli government, and the film shows how they use their music to channel their frustrations and connect with their peers.”

To me, the movie was a celebration of voice … Of people restricted and raped by almost every way imaginable – and yet, voices break through walls, and geography … they resonate.

We will most likely have another screening of the film soon, so you if you are in the area and you decide to drop by, I promise you will be most pleasantly surprised …