a-films

Documentary: "Nahr al-Bared: Checkpoints and more"


Nahr al-Bared refugee camp has still not recovered from the devastating war in 2007 during which it was destroyed. The Lebanese army has been keeping a tight grip on the camp and the 20,000 displaced Palestinians who have returned so far. This 30-minute film documents various consequences of the siege on Nahr al-Bared. Merchants and artisans explain their specific problems and a UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) project manager, a project coordinator of the Palestinian-Arab Women League, the president of Nahr al-Bared’s Merchants’ Committee and a researcher provide their views and thoughts on the issue. 

Video: Nahr al-Bared "Two Years Under Siege"


Two years after it was destroyed in the wake of fighting between the Lebanese army and a militant group, the fate of the Palestinian refugee camp, Nahr al-Bared remains unclear. This 10-minute film, the co-owner of an ice cream factory, the president of the local traders committee and the imam of the al-Quds Mosque, all Palestinian refugees, speak about the siege and its economic consequences. 

Video: Nahr al-Bared, "A Sip of Coffee"


This 26-minute film follows a father and his son in the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp as they attempt to deal with their unemployment. The two have been living in temporary metal shelters for more than a year, waiting to return to their camp. By documenting issues of reconstruction, temporary housing, economy, unemployment and despair, the film touches on the daily experience of life in Nahr al-Bared refugee camp. 

Video: "Nahr al-Bared: Transitions"


More than a year after their homes were destroyed during the battle between the Lebanese army and the militant Islamist group Fatah al-Islam, the majority of the Palestinian refugees from the Nahr al-Bared camp in northern Lebanon find themselves in a difficult situation. Not able to return to their homes, stuck in pre-fabricated housing units and mostly unemployed, many feel frustrated and hopeless that things will improve. 

Video: "Nahr al-Bared, between past and present"


One year has passed since the first Palestinians were allowed to return to the outskirts of the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp, destroyed by the Lebanese army during three months of fighting in the summer of 2007 with Fatah al-Islam, a small Islamist militant group. This 16-minute film was produced in a small workshop in the camp. It deals with the current developments in Nahr al-Bared, focusing on economic aspects and on the reconstruction efforts. 

Video: Harvesting oranges in Burj al-Shemali


Early in the morning, between 5 and 6am, a wave of footsteps and whispering voices can be heard in the narrow alleys of the Burj al-Shemali refugee camp in southern Lebanon. It is in the darkness of the early morning hours that hundreds of Palestinian day laborers leave their homes, gather in the streets and head to work in the nearby fields and orchards. More than two-thirds of the camp’s labor force work at least part-time in agriculture. 

Video: "Homeless in Shatila"


The anarchist film collective “a-films” presents a short video on refugees from the destroyed refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared who are stranded in Shatila Camp, Beirut. The conflict in Nahr al-Bared between the Lebanese army and Fatah al-Islam militants left homeless tens of thousands of Palestinians. Under fire and assuming they could soon return to the camp after their flight, most of them didn’t taken any of their belongings with them. While Baddawi Camp near Trablous (Tripoli), northern Lebanon, is hosting the majority of those who fled, thousands of the camp’s residents are scattered all over other Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon. 

Video: Nahr al-Bared refugees' joyless Ramadan


The anarchist video collective “a-films” presents a 20-minute film entitled “Tragedy Without Borders,” produced by refugees from the destroyed Nahr al-Bared Refugee Camp during a video-workshop held in Baddawi Refugee Camp near Trablous (Tripoli), northern Lebanon. For two weeks, a-films has trained a group of refugees in filmmaking. Thousands of families living in Nahr al-Bared were displaced during the Lebanese army’s summer-long siege on the camp, where a militant group called Fatah al-Islam had established itself. The camp was destroyed during the conflict. 

Video: Israeli forces invade Balata refugee camp


On 24 May 2007 the Israeli Army invaded the Balata refugee camp outside the West Bank city of Nablus. First entering the camp disguised as Palestinian civilians, and later with a number of armored vehicles, the army arrested camp residents and placed the entire population under curfew. This video produced by the Research Journalism Initiative and the Anarchist Film Collective “A-Films” documents the invasion. 

Video: Youth Used as Human Shields in Balata Camp


The Fourth Geneva Convention states that “The presence of a protected person may not be used to render certain points or areas immune from military operations” and in 2005 the Israeli High Court ruled that “You cannot exploit the civilian population for the army’s military needs, and you cannot force them to collaborate with the army.” However, this video shot in Balata Refugee Camp on 11 April 2007 makes it clear that Israeli occupation forces are still employing this illegal tactic, placing the Palestinian civilian population at great risk.