Updated: May 21, 2008
THE VIEW, A NEW SHORT FILM BY THE AMMAN FILMMAKERS
COOPERATIVE, EXPLORES THE PSYCHOLOGY OF WAR
May 21, 2008
The Amman Filmmakers Cooperative announces the completion of the short film Al-Mash'hd (The View), which explores the psychology of violence in the absence of restraints.
The film tells the story of an Israeli sniper on a stakeout who suffers mission drift when a mysterious drama unfolds between a Palestinian man and woman.
The View is not an action movie, it's a story that deals with the complexity of human nature when presented with a situation where life and death decisions can have very little or no consequences for the decision maker.
The View also won praise from a leading film critic, Adnan Madanat, who said The View is a "bold feat, presenting a dramatic scene in one take where we observe from afar as the camera tracks developing events behind a distant window where a couple meet. Intelligent use of voiceovers to both interpret the film events and to give it dramatic and intellectual depth."
This is the second Cooperative short film that won critical acclaim after the short film I Am Ready, by indie director/actor Omar Saleh.
"From Iraq to Palestine, we are presented with so many bone-chilling stories of absolute and unchecked power of one people over another, from the Blackwater killings in Iraq to the Meyasar Abu Me'tiq family massacre in Gaza," said producer Hazim Bitar. "Yet when you look at those who commit such wanton violence, you wonder what sort of circumstances can transform seemingly normal people into cruel instruments of death."
The View is the second film for co-director Rifqi Assaf's, produced by the Cooperative, after The Last Patch (2005). He also produced other shorts such as Amman in Red and It's Thursday.
"With this film, I have matured as a filmmaker. I am confident this film will woo audiences and critics alike because we have good cinema along with a humane message that we hope to convey to people. But that's just my opinion," commented Rifqi Assaf.
THE VIEW: FILM INFO
TITLE: Al-Mash'hd (The View).
SYNOPSIS: An Israeli sniper on a stakeout suffers mission drift when a
mysterious drama unfolds between a Palestinian man and woman
DIRECTOR: Hazim Bitar & Rifqi Assaf
WRITER: Hazim Bitar & Rifqi Assaf
CAST: Rabee Zureikat, Kian Hattar, Fares Ja'bari
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Hazim Bitar
LENGTH: 16 min.
FORMAT: HDV
LANGUAGE: Hebrew w/English and Arabic subtitles
PRODUCER: Hazim Bitar & Amman Filmmakers Cooperative
PRODUCTION Date: May 2008
POSTER: Ayah Younis
TRAILER: http://youtube.com/watch?v=w1Ffmhnhp38
POSTER: http://AmmanFIlmmakers.alif.com/images/theviewposter.jpg
FILMPAGE: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Al-Mashhd-The-View/13251098289
CONTACT:
Amman Filmmakers Cooperative (AFC)
Email: ArabFilmmakers@ gmail.com
Phone: +962.776.400. 434
Web: http://JordanianFilms.com
RELATED LINKS:On the Israeli and US extra-judicial executions, random violence and the response of human rights organizations and activists.
DN: Iraqi Witnesses, Victims Describe Blackwater Shooting in Harrowing Detail http://www.democracynow.org/features/blackwater_usaGuardian: Palestinian Mother and Her Four Children Killed During Israeli Raid http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/apr/28/israel
FBI finds Blackwater killed innocent Iraqis
http://tinyurl.com/65rqj5AI: Amnesty International condemns Israeli assassinations http://archive.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE150072001?open&of=ENG-325
B'Tselem: Israel's Assassination Policy: Extra-judicial Executions http://www.btselem.org/Download/200101_Extrajudicial_Killings_Eng.doc
EI: Assassination is indeed an unlawful act
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2534.shtml# # #
