RAMALLAH, October 15, 2009 (WAFA)- MASARAT is an ambitious Palestinian media project, funded by the European Union, which aims at promoting awareness of the resiliency and strength of Palestinian women and encouraging public debate of some of their lives.

An EU press release, said Thursday the project is implemented by Shashat, a Palestinian cinema NGO based in Ramallah, which organizes the annual Palestinian Women’s film festival in its 5^th edition this year, and the national screening\discussion program “Films for All,” in addition to training and consultancies for the Palestinian filmmaking sector.

MASARAT project has three components – Productions, Screenings\Discussion and Broadcasts.  Four films on Palestinian women’s lives by four Palestinian women filmmakers were produced, which are being shown in 16 cultural centers and 9 universities at a total of 58 screenings throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip in towns, villages, community centers and universities.  In some sites the four films will be screened together, in others sites each film will be screened and discussed individually.  At six of the universities and one of the cultural centers each film’s discussion will be videotaped by a local independent TV station and segments of it broadcast in a live talk TV show with includes the broadcasting of the film and viewer call-ins.  In all sites, social workers, lawyers and local women leaders facilitate the discussion of the films.  These screenings\discussions and broadcasts are aimed at promoting the widest possible community and audience involvement in the films.  The TV programs will be re-broadcast 5 times on each station during the months of October and November, with a total of 168 broadcasts.

The four films are directed by prominent Palestinian women filmmakers, and produced by Dr. Alia Arasoughly, who is the Project Director of the MASARAT project.  The films include Ghada Terawi’s Golden Pomegranate Seeds, the folk-tale girl who remained silent in the face of tremendous oppression and the real women who decided to speak out; and the three older farming women’s tough pre-dawn journey from their fields to the vegetable markets telling how the earth is their companion and confidant, keeping them Far from Loneliness of Sawsan Qaoud; to Mahasen Nasser-Eldin’s Samia, the feisty, active and committed 71-year old whose struggle to remain in Jerusalem and to promote girls' education mark her personal and professional life; and then to the tender and innocent blooming of  Dima Abu Ghoush’s  First Love in the lives of several young women and the importance of the role of parents.

The films focus on women and young girls from diverse walks of life addressing the complexity of women’s lives in Palestine.  Each of the films is unique in its style and subject matter and focuses on women from different social, economic backgrounds and of different generations.  The four directors and producer worked in a collaborative manner meeting to discuss the films as well as to look at different rough cuts.

The seven independent community TV stations are Farah TV in Jenin, Al-Fajr Al-Jadeed TV in Tulkarem, Gama TV in Nablus, Watan TV in Ramallah, Al-Quds Educational TV in Ramallah, Al-Ru`at TV in Bethlehem, and Nawras TV in Hebron. 

The screening\discussion sites who are also involved in the TV broadcasts are the Arab American University of Jenin, An-Najah National University in Nablus, Birzeit University, Al-Quds University, Bethlehem University, and Hebron University as well as the Child Development Cultural Center in Tulkarem.

Other screening sites in the West Bank include Al-Quds Open University in Salfeet, Palestine Vocational College in Ramallah, Young Women Christian Association in Jericho, Women for Life in Bidya, Al-Hoash Palestinian Art Court in Jerusalem, Bethlehem Peace Center, The Syndicate for Psychological Workers in Nablus, Palestinian Youth Union in Abood village, Kai la Nansa Women’s Society in Jenin Refugee Camp, Rural Women’s Society in Beit Fajjar, and Rural Women’s Society in Husan.  In the Gaza Strip the screening\discussion sites include Al-Aqsa University in Gaza City, Women’s Media Center in Gaza City, Women’s Affairs Center in Gaza City, Women Media and Communication Forum in Khan Younis, Ray of Hope Society in Nuseirat, Union of Women’s Committees in Beit Lahia, and Zakher for Women’s Development in Gaza City.

The involvement of this extensive and diverse network of community, cultural and educational institutions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip as well as independent media outlets in the MASARAT project proves that they see the importance of using the media to address women’s lives in Palestine.

Film and video productions are effective ways to approach women’s issues, as they engage people emotionally and critically. They are not dry like lectures and workshops and they reach audiences from diverse social, economic and educational backgrounds. Unlike lectures or workshops people are not afraid of appearing ignorant if they say the wrong thing, for everyone can have an opinion about a film.  Films and videos are a unique and effective way of approaching women’s issues and educating about women’s lives by emotionally involving audiences in the discussion of these issues.

Culture is a catalyst for development. It empowers in situations of silence and can broaden horizons and constructions of identity through critical and independent thinking. Art can entertain, educate, challenge, and inform, creating and allowing a space for reflection, empathy, analysis, understanding, and social change, and expressing ideas ignored or marginalised by the dominant media. Such is the scope of the MASARAT project.