Curtain falls on 11th edition of Karama Human Rights Film Festival

AMMAN — Shedding light on human rights issues, Karama Human Rights Film Festival’s 11th edition titled “Memory of Being” concluded on Thursday after two weeks of screenings.

Conducted on an exceptional basis, gearing towards adjusting to ongoing circumstances due to the pandemic, the festival’s 11th edition was screened virtually through an online platform, in addition to holding events limited to a certain number of attendees.

The festival saw the screening of 40 films and also included a series of activities and events among which were film colloquiums, dialogues and workshops, according to a statement sent to The Jordan Times on Saturday.

“This edition’s theme is the Memory of Being, which aims to preserve the memory and honour the senior citizens of the world who are most vulnerable to the pandemic,” the festival’s director Sawsan Darwaza told The Jordan Times on Saturday.

She also said that “we need to remember creatively and be prepared for and aware of the future”.

The goal was to preserve the memory, which carries within the consciousness and stories of people through cinema, Darwaza said during Karama’s virtual closing ceremony.

In an unprecedented situation imposed by the pandemic, the manner of Karama’s opening ceremony was celebrated differently, Darwaza said, adding that the open-air screenings on walls in Jabal Luweibdeh, was “a whole new experience”.

Karama Human Rights Film Festival organised by M3mal612-Think Factory, selected human rights films on topics of “memory and archive that are uniquely significant to the Arab region, films that document or depict the changes and transformations that took place in the past year across the region and the world,” according to Karama’s website.

The festival’s Artistic Director Ihab Khatib said during the virtual closing ceremony that “this edition was quite difficult”, as they were striving to present Karama virtually.

Khatib pointed out that they were trying to reach all people wherever they were, through the wall screenings and the Karama online platform.

During the closing ceremony, the winning films of the Karama Feather Awards were announced within four categories.

Karama Jordan, which was incepted in 2010, is the first human rights film festival in the Arab region. It co-founded and supported several festivals in the Arab region, such as Karama Palestine, Karama Mauritania, Karama Gaza-Red Carpet Human Rights Film Festival and Karama Beirut, in addition to other festival in the region, according to Karama’s website.