BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 X-WR-CALNAME:www.indybay.org PRODID:-//indybay/ical// v1.0//EN BEGIN:VEVENT UID:Indybay-18477616 SEQUENCE:18501727 CREATED:20080207T203500Z DESCRIPTION:"The Presence of Absence in the Ruins of Kafr Bir'im"\nFilm screening followed by discussion with filmaker Dr. John Halaka\n\n\n\nThe Ruins of Kafr Bir'im. 2006. Photo Credit John Halaka © (photo not included as i didn't want to download it at work)\nWhen: Saturday February 16, 2008 6 PM\n\nWhere: Al-Awda Center, 2734 Loker Avenue West Suite K, Carlsbad CA 92010\n\nAbout the Film: 2007 release by SittingCrow Productions. Produced, filmed, written,\nnarrated and directed by John Halaka. Edited by Marissa Bowman. Music composed and\nperformed by the Ramallah based musician Mohsen Subhi Running time: 60 minutes. \nLanguage: English and Arabic with English subtitles\n\n"The Presence of Absence in the Ruins of Kafr Bir'im" presents a seldom-heard\nPalestinian perspective. Shot on location in the ruins and cemetery of Kafr Bir'im,\na Palestinian village located in Northern Galilee, the film introduces the viewer to\nMr. Ibrahim Essa, an elderly poet who is a survivor of the mass dispossession and\nexpulsion the native population of Palestine experienced in 1948 at the hands of the\nZionists. Mr. Essa's family has lived in Kafr Bir'im for the past 700 years. \nThrough his narrative and poetry, Ibrahim Essa recounts his experiences as a youth\nin the village, the hardships of a life in exile and the intense emotional, physical\nand historical connections to the land that he shares with the 7.5 million\nPalestinians who are also living in forced exile from their homes and land. Mr. Essa\nemploys an ancient oral tradition of poetry that, in style, is similar to what is\nnow referred to as "Spoken Word Poetry." This improvisational oral tradition has\nbeen around for centuries in Northern Palestine and continues to be used by farmers\nand villagers to express the community's intimate relationship to the land; a\nyearning for past times and a better future; and their cultural, psychological and\nphysical attachment to the ancient and modern ruins that exist throughout that\nregion.\n \nIn his introduction to the events that resulted in the complete destruction of the\nvillage, John Halaka explains that the village of Kafr Bir'im was depopulated of its\nPalestinian inhabitants by the military forces of the newly imposed Zionist state of\n'Israel' in early November 1948. All of the 1050 inhabitants of Kafr Bir'im were\ndriven from their land, and have not been allowed to return to the homes and fields\nthat they and their ancestors had inhabited and cultivated for centuries. \n \nThe film commemorates the 60th year of the depopulation by force of Kafr Bir'im and\nmemorializes the mass expulsion and dispossession that befell Palestine that year.\nThe Zionist campaign to dispossess Palestine of its indigenous inhabitants started\nin December 1947. By December 1948, it had resulted in the destruction of\nPalestinian civil and political society, the eradication of 531 villages, and the\nexpulsion of more than three quarters of a million Palestinian civilians.\nPalestinians refer to this great catastrophe as the "Nakba"\n\nAbout the Filmaker: John Halaka considers himself an activist artist whose creative\nwork serves as a vehicle for meditation on personal, cultural and political\nconcerns. He creates metaphorical images that raise questions, for himself as well\nas for the viewer, about some of the pressing issues of our time. The primary focus\nof his work over the past two decades can be summarized as an ongoing reflection on\nthe frailty and resilience of the human condition and the persistent search for\nself-realization in the face of personal and cultural self-delusion. His experiences\nas an artist of Palestinian descent shape his pictorial investigations of cycles of\nrepression and displacement as well as the personal and political relationship\nbetween desire, denial and instability. His recent work investigates issues of\nidentity construction from personal, familial and political perspectives.\n\nJohn Halaka is of Palestinian descent and was born in El Mansoura, Egypt, in 1957. \nHe is a Professor of Painting and Drawing at the University of San Diego, where he\nhas taught since 1991. He received his MFA in the Visual Arts from the University\nof Houston in 1983. In 1979, Halaka received his B.A. in Fine Arts from the City\nUniversity of New York Baccalaureate Program, with Brooklyn College as home school.\nJohn Halaka has exhibited his work in solo and group exhibitions both locally and\nnationally. His work was included in the exhibit Made In Palestine, organized by the\nStation Museum, in Houston Texas, as well as, IN-VISIBLE, the inaugural exhibition\nat the Arab American National Museum in Detroit, Michigan. Halaka's art can be\nviewed on his web site. \n\nDirections to Al-Awda Center\n\nAl-Awda's Center is located at 2734 Loker Avenue West Suite K, Carlsbad, CA 92010.\nFrom I-5, exit Palomar Airport Road and head East - make a left on Loker Avenue West\n(first left after you cross El Camino Real) and left into Carlsbad Crossroads\nbusiness center (look for the large Carlsbad Crossroads sign). End 2734 Loker Avenue\nWest Suite K.\n\nFrom I-15, exit I-78 West. From I-78 exit San Marcos Blvd and head West. San Marcos\nBlvd becomes Palomar Airport Road when you enter Carlsbad. Loker Avenue West will be\non your right, past the Melrose Drive and El Fuerte intersections. Other directions\nas above.\n\nFrom El Camino Real, go East on Palomar Airport Road and make a (first) left on\nLoker Avenue West. Other directions as above.\n\nPlease note: The screening on Saturday February 16, 2008 will be preceded by the\nrecording of contributions for the 60 Years of Nakba Video Quilt \n\nPlease also note that a second screening of "The Presence of Absence in the Ruins of\nKafr Bir'im" is tentatively scheduled for Sunday Feburary 24, 2008 starting at 2 PM\nat the Arab Community House in Anaheim. This screening will also be preceded by the\nrecording of contributions for the 60 Years of Nakba Video Quilt \n \nFor more information, contact:\n\n\nAl-Awda San Diego\nThe Palestine Right to Return Coalition\nPO Box 131352\nCarlsbad, CA 92013, USA\nTel: 760-685-3243\nFax: 360-933-3568\nEmail: info@al-awdasandiego.org\nhttp://al-awdasandiego.org \n \n---------------------------------\nSave the Date!\nSixth Annual International Al Awda Convention\nOn The Sixtieth Year of Al Nakba\nAnaheim, California\nMay 16-18, 2008\nhttp://al-awda.org\n---------------------------------\n\nSupport Al-Awda, a Great Organization and Cause!\nBecome an Al-Awda Sustainer:\nMonthly: http://al-awda.org/sustainers.html\nAnnually: http://al-awda.org/sustainers2.html\n\n https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/02/07/18477616.php SUMMARY:"The Presence of Absence in the Ruins of Kafr Bir'im" LOCATION:Al-Awda Center, 2734 Loker Avenue West Suite K, Carlsbad CA 92010 URL:https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/02/07/18477616.php DTSTART:20080217T020000Z DTEND:20080217T040000Z END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR