A new season of «AstraDoc - Journey into the real cinema» is underway, the documentary series curated by Arci Movie with Federico II University, Parallel 41 Productions and Coinor, under the patronage of the Municipality of Naples, and hosted at the Cinema Academy Astra in Naples. The XIV edition kicks off on Friday, February 9, 2024, with a double appointment and two great films that tell the tragedy of the life of the Palestinian people in Gaza and near the wall between Israel and Palestine.
This evening opens the film event that will animate the hall in Mezzocannone street until May, with films and guests shedding light on highly topical issues and offering space to the cinematic art, in the form of cinema that looks at reality.
We start at 7 pm, a free admission event, with the film «Erasmus in Gaza» (Spain-Italy, 2021, 88'), by Chiara Avesani and Matteo Delbò, selected at the Biografilm Festival in Bologna and in numerous international festivals. It is the true story of Riccardo Corradini, the first Italian and European student to undertake an Erasmus in the Gaza Strip, for as long as four months, in 2019. During his stay, he will bond with other students and young Palestinians, giving us back the image of a suffocated people who do not lose hope. The screening will be accompanied by the interventions of Sara Borrillo, researcher at the University of Tor Vergata, and Giovanna Maciariello, councilor of Arci Campania and vice president of ARCS Culture Solidali.
«Riccardo, the protagonist of our Erasmus, is the first Western student who goes to Gaza to learn: he learns his future job from local surgeons and professors at the Islamic University and learns resilience from his friends. Following his journey into a war zone, we have set out to give viewers an immersive experience within the Gazawi youth community, that slice of the population that with its enthusiasm and its desire to live seeks daily strategies, often surprising and unexpected, to resist the siege of which it finds itself a prisoner. At the same time, we have tried to tell an educational journey to highlight how the curiosity of the other and the exchange of knowledge are an effective key to overcome walls, survive violence and remain human», the directors affirm.
The evening continues at 9 pm, with the film «200 meters» by Ameen Nayfeh, making his directorial debut in a feature film, presented at the Authors' Days of the 77th Venice International Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award. The work focuses on the story of Mustafa who lives separated from his family, just two hundred meters away, beyond the Israeli barrier. Until, after an accident, they will prevent him from crossing the border to visit his son and those few meters will become infinite kilometers. The film will be introduced by the intervention of independent researcher and writer Iain Chambers.
«There are many memories I no longer have access to or maybe I'm afraid to dwell on too much. Oppression is alienating especially when you get used to the denial of your fundamental rights. A forced separation hurts a lot. 200 meters is my story, but also that of thousands of Palestinians and stories can certainly change people's lives. I believe in the power of cinema and its way of touching our existence with its magic. I needed to tell this story», the directors affirm.
This second appointment requires an entrance ticket of 5 euros, reduced Arci members, 4 euros. The proceeds will be donated, net of expenses incurred, in favor of the fundraising “Emergency Gaza”, promoted by AOI to bring humanitarian aid to the population. The evening is also part of the national Arci campaign “Palestine: with other eyes. Visions, words and sounds for a just peace”.
The Arci Movie series will continue every Friday until May with as many as sixteen documentaries accompanied by directors, actors, authors and protagonists of the world of culture, entertainment and universities. The Cinema Academy Astra is in Mezzocannone street 109.