Sunday, October 1 at 5:00pm | The Main Cinema
About R 21 Aka Restoring Solidarity + Tokyo Reels: From the 1960s to the 1980s, many radical left-wing movements across the globe aligned with the growing struggle for Palestinian self-determination, and these movements inspired filmmakers in Europe, Japan, and the SWANA region. Recently, a cache of 20 films made in this era were discovered in Tokyo and dubbed the "Tokyo Reels." R 21 is the 21st reel, and in it, filmmaker Mohannad Yacoubi and his team edit together various scenes from this incredibly diverse archive, which detail and engage with different aspects of the Palestinian liberation struggle. In addition to R 21's overview and detailed account of the restoration process, this film segment includes three of our favorite films from the Tokyo Reels collection.
About R 21 Aka Restoring Solidarity
Dir. Mohanad Yaqubi | 2022 | Palestine, Belgium, Qatar | English, Arabic, and Japanese with English subtitles | 71 min
In the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, many radical left-wing movements across the globe aligned with the growing struggle for Palestinian self-determination, including movements in countries such as Japan, with filmmakers taking up the cause. R 21 cuts together a cache of archival films about various aspects of the Palestinian liberation movements that were found in Tokyo and therefore dubbed the "Tokyo Reels." Stylistically, the films vary widely. R 21 includes edited-together footage from these archival films––interviews with PLO leaders, documentary impressions of life in refugee camps, experimental films, and instructional films for tourism purposes––with scenes of the film restoration process itself. Mohanad Yaqubi has drawn on this material to create a film that might be seen as a conclusion or epilogue. He shows how two very different people can feel connected through images. He raises vital questions: Where is the line between support and propaganda? And to what extent can a local struggle be translated internationally?
Director’s Bio
Mohanad Yaqubi is a Palestinian filmmaker, producer, and one of the founders of the Ramallah-based production house Idioms Film. Yaqubi also is one of the founders of the research and curatorial collective Subversive Films, which focuses on militant film practices, and a founding member of the Palestine Film Institute. His film No Exit (2015, written with Omar Kheiry) premiered at the Dubai International Film Festival. His feature Off Frame aka Revolution Until Victory (2016), screened at TIFF, Berlinale, cinema du reel, Dubai IFF, and other festivals worldwide. Since 2017, he has been a resident researcher at the School of the Art (KASK) in Gent, Belgium.
About Cowboy (Tokyo Reels)
Dir. Sami Al-Salamoni | 1973 | Egypt, Palestine, Japan | No dialogue | 15 min
Cowboy uses the images from American cinema to expose the country's settler colonial structure and its ability to depict genocidal acts through camera framing. The film, directed by the renowned Egyptian film critic Sami Al-Salamoni, reflects his theoretical critique of Hollywood through heavily edited scenes and shots from mainstream motion pictures. Al-Salamoni manages to take the audience through the history of commercialized image production towards a transnational solidarity image production as a response. This film was recovered as a part of a cache of archival films about various aspects of the Palestinian liberation movements that were found in Tokyo and therefore dubbed the "Tokyo Reels."
About The Game (Tokyo Reels)
Dir. Shirak | 1973 | Iraq, Palestine, Japan | No dialogue | 16 min
In 1973, Shirak directed this short film in which the games of Palestinian children increasingly merge with warfare. Remnants of combat, such as bullets and tanks, are the toys of a group of young boys. When one of them finds a casing of a bombshell, their band disperses into a haunting game of hide and seek. This film was recovered as a part of a cache of archival films about various aspects of the Palestinian liberation movements that were found in Tokyo and therefore dubbed the "Tokyo Reels."
About The Field (Tokyo Reels)
Dir. Sabih Al-Zoohiri | 1977 | Iraq, Palestine, Japan | No dialogue | 11 min
Produced by the Iraqi Cinema and Theatre Institute, this short fiction film was made as a melody for resistance. With no dialogue, and no character to follow their story, the film addresses the question of Palestine through a story of a farmer and his family, who were forced to stop plowing their land because of the sudden arrival of Israeli army vehicles. This film was recovered as a part of a cache of archival films about various aspects of the Palestinian liberation movements that were found in Tokyo and therefore dubbed the "Tokyo Reels."
Presented by Mizna
Mizna is a critical platform for contemporary literature, film, art, and cultural production centering the work of Arab and Southwest Asian and North African artists. For more than twenty years, we have been creating a decolonized cultural space to reflect the expansiveness of our community and to foster exchange, examine ideas, and engage audiences in meaningful art.