ART/VIOLENCE (Batoul Taleb, Mariam Abu Khaled, Udi Aloni). 75 minutes. Subtitled. Monday (September 30), 9 pm, Jackman Hall.
THE TORONTO PALESTINE FILM FESTIVAL at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema (506 Bloor West), Jackman Hall (317 Dundas West) and TIFF Bell Lightbox (350 King West), from Saturday (September 28) to Wednesday (October 4). See listings. tpff.ca. Rating: NNN
It’s perhaps inevitable that the members of a theatre troupe will get a little self-important about the work they do, but in the case of Jenin’s Freedom Theatre, their sense that they’re changing the world with their art is maybe more valid than most.
This documentary follows the young actors in the wake of founder and director Juliano Mer-Khamis’s 2011 murder, as they mount productions of Alice In Wonderland, Waiting For Godot and Antigone.
The material is chosen because it’s well suited to the absurdities of life under occupation, and the manner in which it’s performed (both live and for the documentary cameras) suggests that the concept of subtlety is still making its way to the Palestinian stage.
But when a young woman matter-of-factly describes herself as an actor “in a theatre that’s not a theatre, in a country that’s not a country,” you can’t help but get the point.
