Held at the Museum of Photographic Arts in Balboa Park, the 13th Annual San Diego Arab Film Festival starts April 12 and runs through April 21.
Rami Younis is the co-director of “Lyd,” the closing night feature film at the festival.
“It's a science fiction documentary which I co-directed with an American filmmaker, New York-based, Sarah Friedland,” Younis said.
He spoke to KPBS from where he lives — Haifa, Israel, and said work for this project began back in 2016.
“We wanted to tell the story of my hometown of Lyd, which is a city that was occupied in 1948,” Yonis said. “It used to be the city that connected Palestine to the world.”
“Lyd” is one of many films that will be featured at this year's festival.
There will be eight screenings in all, each showcasing one feature film and one short film, from across the Arab world.
Several films at this year’s festival revolve around ongoing conflict.
“We are stepping more into representing Palestinian filmmaking because of what's happening in Gaza, and in the West Bank and in Jerusalem,” said festival organizer Bassemah Darwish.
She is a local San Diegan and Palestinian herself.
Darwish said the festival has grown and changed over the years, and now the films are about much more than struggle and pain.
“The artists are exploring more creatively and just stepping out of telling the story of trauma and occupation,” she said.
Larry Christian is president of KARAMA, a nonprofit organization that focuses on issues of the Arab and Islamic world. They put on the festival.
“We want to provide a focal point for the community to show itself and be proud of itself,” Christian said of the local Arab community in San Diego.
He said outside of featuring Palestinian voices, this year’s festival features films about Syria, Tunisia, Morocco, and Lebanon.
“Film is a way also to show people realistic depictions of Arab people and culture in a way that printed pages and other things don't do,” Christian said.
Darwish said some of this year’s films are relatable to her own experience growing up in the U.S.
“My mom told me stories often about this beautiful place called Palestine and that's what explained my name, and our food, and the smell in our home and the sound of the Quran on Fridays,” she said, recalling parts of her childhood in California’s San Joaquin Valley.
She said overall the films help to share Arab identity, defy stereotypes and provide a voice for the marginalized.
“It's really important to see yourself represented on screen, in society as culturally relevant,” Darwish said. “It's been a beautiful experience to both view the films on screen at the Museum of Photographic Arts and also to be part of making that happen.”
Representation is front of mind for Younis.
He said his film depicts multiple pasts, presents, and futures of the modern-day Israeli city now known as Lod.
“In our film there are Jews, Christians and Muslims living in one place without the occupation. It's not a utopia but it's also not an occupied, unjust place,” Younis said.
He said getting the film made was challenging due to the ongoing conflict. Younis hopes the sci-fi documentary makes people reflect.
“No one can take away your imagination. That's one thing that can't be occupied, you know? If you don't imagine, you're doomed to live the reality that was created in someone else’s imagination,” Younis said.
Tickets are on sale online or at the door if they’re not yet sold out. Arabic dinners will also be available each evening.
More information can be found at sandiegoaff.org.
