Lichtblick-Kino

Basel Adra, a young Palestinian from the village of Masafer Yatta in the occupied West Bank, has been resisting the forced expulsions and demolition of the villages in his home region for many years. His weapon? A small camera. Each time Israeli bulldozers approach Palestinian homes, Adra runs to the scene and courageously records the same surreal footage: the vain imploring of poor farmers, women, and children trying to protect their homes (or their one school) in the face of undaunted executioners: those young, high-tech-geared Israeli conscripts tasked with completing the bulldozing job. Sometimes armed settlers chime in (at one point, they shoot a villager), all against a backdrop of total legal impunity. When he meets Yuval Abraham, an Israeli journalist who wants to support his fight, the story takes on an additional layer, exploring the possibility of enduring friendship in times of sheer injustice—when you live on opposite sides of the Apartheid wall.

Thanks to the footage gathered over time by Adra, soon supported by the film’s extra camera crew, the documentary offers a unique first-hand, real-time peek into the villagers‘ tragic fight against state violence caught live on camera. The result? An eye-opening film about a reality too often ignored, especially in Germany. But No Man’s Land is more than a militant film: the footage has been assembled into a concise, well-paced narrative, adding up to a damning portrayal of impunity that may leave viewers struggling for words after the screening. You watch this, and you can’t ignore the reality any longer. Nothing to add.

The film premiered at the Berlinale and deservedly won the festival’s Panorama Audience Award and Best Documentary, despite the domestic controversy created by local politicians distancing themselves from the onstage ceremony.

It’s olive harvest season in the West Bank. As war rages over Palestinians in Gaza, violence has also intensified in the West Bank. Increased cases of killings by the army and settler attacks have been reported by the UN and the media, and farmers fear for their safety; incidents of olive trees burned, vandalised, or stolen by settlers have become more frequent. In this context, NGOs have been calling for volunteers—at a time when helping with the harvest also and primarily means protecting farmers.

Rike Flämig has been volunteering at a farm across the West Bank for many years. Last June, she returned to the farm of the Nassar family. There, while helping to water olive trees, she witnessed the heightened violence since her first visit to the farm in 2012. She will share her first-hand observations on the current situation for Palestinian farmers in Area C of the West Bank.

Rike Flämig is a performer, activist, theologian, and cultural worker. She has created numerous artistic interventions and documentary works at the intersection of art, humanitarian work, and politics.

Rike has been travelling regularly to the West Bank over the past 10 years, where she has assisted farmers and gathered video documentation for her films and installations. Her short film Disruptions (2014) was shot in Hebron and the Aida Camp. For her video installations Fig Tree and Road Block (2016), she worked at Tent of Nations Farm south of Bethlehem.

In 2012, and again last June, she helped the Nassar family on their olive farm. She will share her experiences and discuss the worsening conditions for farmers in the West Bank.