Cinema Jenin
Directors: Marcus Vetter and Alex Bakri
Cinema Jenin is a Fellini-esque documentary comedy taking place in the West Bank city of Jenin following a local initiative to re-open the old and only cinema in the city.
Cinema was once a staple of Palestinian cultural life. Thirty years ago, the cityscapes of the West Bank’s major towns—Nablus, Qalqilya, Tulkarm, and Jenin—were dotted with movie theaters. They all closed in 1987, during the first Intifada. Today there are almost no cinemas operating in the Palestinian controlled territories.
Cinema Jenin was one of these old movie theaters. Founded in the 1960s, it was once the largest cinema in the territories. Hundreds of people visited it each day to see the best movies made across the Arab world. Over the years, they also began screening action films, American B-movies, and even porn. The cinema closed in 1987. Today, the building is a hollow echo of the Palestinian economy in general. It is crumbling and seems just about to collapse; taking all the old stories it once contained crashing down with it. And yet, there are still hints of its glamour days for anyone to see.
Not far from the cinema, in the Jenin refugee camp lives Ismail Khatib. Ismail had his own brief moment of fame when his young son was killed by an Israeli soldier, who mistook his toy for a gun. In an unprecedented attempt to overcome the hatred that has plagued Jenin for far too long, Ismail agreed to have his son’s organs transplanted in both Palestinian and Jewish patients. His inspiring story featured in the press for several weeks, and was the subject of Marcus Vetter’s last film, A Heart from Jenin. It also led to a generous donation by the Italian government that was used to open a youth center in the refugee camp, where Ismail had spent his whole life. In recognition of his remarkable gift of life, Ismail was asked to run the youth center. The reopening of Cinema Jenin is, for him, the inevitable next step in his efforts to improve the quality of life for people living in the squalor of the camp.
Joining Ismail in his new mission is his project manager Fakhri Hamad. Fakhri was forced to shut his shoe store since he had no customers. Instead he decided to volunteer at the youth center, and has been working on the theater project ever since for no pay. For him, and for so many people like him, Cinema Jenin is a lifesaver that will one day rescue him from his economic situation. He hopes the project will succeed, and that he will succeed with it. At first glance the project seems to be going well, but the team still encounters many problems along the way. Not only must they raise enough money to pay for the renovation; they must also overcome the religious conservatives who oppose the project and where it might lead. The film follows its characters as they evolve and grow as entrepreneurs until the grand opening of the theatre when they will learn whether their efforts where successful or will they have to resume their old life in the refugee camp.