Palestine rolls out red carpet minus stars

Coinciding with the Cannes Film Festival, the Red Carpet Human Rights Film Festival is held in Palestinian city of Gaza as a reminder to the world of the besieged Gazans.   

The festival presents cinematic projects that shed light on local and global humanitarian issues with a focus on highlighting the fact that Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have been living under a debilitating Israeli siege for several years with less possibility for cultural events.

Referring to the long red carpet laid out for ordinary people including Gazans who would like to watch films at the event, the fest director Saad al-Saworki recently said that “the children and poor people are walking on the carpet," adding, "They are far more important than the carpet."

He also noted that the event is “an alternative to the catwalks and glamour of its French counterpart (Cannes Film Festival).”

According to the filmfest official website, the first edition of the event took place in May 2015 when the organizers rolled a 60-meter-long red carpet amid the rubble of Gaza City's Shijaiyah district, heavily bombarded during the 2014 Israel assault on the Gaza Strip.

The third edition of the Red Carpet Human Rights Film Festival took place on May 12-17, 2017.

AG/AG