The Palestinian cause will be high on the agenda of the 9th Medenine International Documentary and Short Films Festival (FIFDOC).
Indonesia is the guest of honour at this 2023 edition, organised on November 29-December 3, without the festive aspect.
Tunisian actor and director Foued Litaiem has been appointed honorary president of this exceptional edition of FIFDOC.
The Festival is organised by the Association “visions pour la culture et le développement” in Médenine, with the support of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and several other partners.
In the run-up to the official kick-off on December 1, Wednesday will see the launch of a “my film in 72 hours” competition.
The line-up includes a selection of 24 films, including 11 documentaries and 13 short fiction films on the Palestinian resistance. These films by nominated Arab directors represent 13 countries: Algeria, Morocco, Libya, Syria, Egypt, Iraq, Palestine, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, France, the Netherlands and Tunisia with 5 films.
Tun
isian actress Mariem ben Chaabane is on the jury for this year’s event, which also includes Giusy Buemi (artistic director, Italy), Sofia Aghilas (producer, Morocco), Hasanain Hani (director, Iraq) and Sam Lahoud (producer, Lebanon).
Three prizes will be awarded in each competition: The Golden, Silver or Bronze Khlel. This prize, in the form of a fibula, represents the traditional ‘Khlel’ jewellery used to fasten the ends of women’s traditional costumes.
Documentary films will compete for the best film prize (gold), the best script prize (silver) and the jury prize for the best documentary (bronze). In the short fiction competition, the festival will award a first prize for best direction (gold), a second prize for best short fiction (silver) and the jury prize for best short (bronze).
All the festive aspects and workshops will be skipped at this year’s festival, which will be limited to screenings and conferences in tribute to the Palestinian resistance.
The official opening ceremony, on Friday, will fea
ture a performance of politically committed songs by the Tunisian group “Ouled al manajem.”
A remote presentation will be made by Palestinian director of the Al Quds International Film Festival Ezzedine Shallah.
A series of tributes to leading figures in Arab cinema and theatre, including Ola Hamad (Syria), Ramadan Mezdaoui and Ali Ahmed Salem (Libya) and Mariem ben Chaabane, Wahida Dridi, Dalila Meftahi and Khaled Bouzid (Tunisia) are also scheduled.
Two documentaries from the official competition will be screened, “Mostamerroun” by Ibrahim Khaled Moslim (32′, Palestine) and “El Gotra” by Younes ben Hajria (26′, Tunisia).
All the films in the competition will be screened on Saturday.
The closing evening will see the announcement of the official awards and the screening of the first prize-winning films in the two competitions, documentary and fiction, in addition to the competition film, my film in 72 hours. A theatre performance entitled Gaza ramz al izza (literally Gaza, a symbol of pride) is also on t
he agenda.
The Medenine Institute for Arid Regions (IRA), where the festival was launched at its first and second sessions, will host a scientific conference on “the role of cinema in preserving heritage” on Friday morning.
A master class, scheduled for December 3 at the Espace des Associations, will be devoted to the issue of “the use of multimedia supports, photo and video, in support of the Palestinian cause.”
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse
The Government is planning to construct 100 mega dams and another 1,000 small water reservoirs as one way of harvesting storm waters.
Water, Sanitation, and Irrigation CS Zachary Mwangi says seven of the dams will be built in the Central region to cushion the area against water scarcity during the dry season.
The CS who was speaking in Nyeri ahead of a planned tour of various water projects in the county said the government is partnering with both donors and international lenders to help in funding the ambitious program which has already been sanctioned by Cabinet.
‘The Government is committed to setting up water projects which will mainly include dams. In this region (Central), we have about seven major dams that the government is committed to build and so we are sourcing for funds. As a government, we are committed to ensuring rainwater does not cause havoc. The other day the Cabinet passed (a resolution) that the Ministry (of Water) comes up with 100 mega dams and 1,000 smaller dams to ensure that we a
re able to harvest rainwater,’ he told KNA.
His sentiments come at a time when Kenya is confronted with devastating floods from the ongoing El Nino rains that have seen more than 100 people lose their lives and another 189,000 displaced from their homes.
Among the worst affected counties include Tana River, Garissa, Mandera, and Wajir that have seen hundreds of families cut off from the rest of the country after raging floods destroyed major roads, and bridges and destroyed critical infrastructures like markets and communication installations.
Yesterday the National El Nino Emergency and Disaster Response Command Center chaired by Interior PS Raymond Omollo listed Isiolo, Kwale, Homa Bay, Makueni, Tharaka Nithi, Lamu, Taita Taveta, Meru and Kisumu counties among areas likely to experience flooding.
To address the looming disaster, the PS said the Government has set up an information desk at Nyayo House to receive and respond to any emergency that may arise from the ongoing rains.
Mwangi also said the Gov
ernment is working with County Governments to address the flooding menace including assessing the extent of damage to existing water projects that have been destroyed by the floods.
He cited Garissa as one of the counties that have borne the brunt of destruction in terms of the number of boreholes that have been destroyed and said every effort is being taken to make sure they are rehabilitated once the rains subside.
‘There are several counties that have been affected and we had so many boreholes that have already been submerged like in Garissa where our water pumping infrastructure has been submerged. So, we are working to see that we work with the county government to rehabilitate the boreholes and other water infrastructure that have caused havoc in these areas,’ he added.
‘We are working in close collaboration with all development partners to ensure that what the government has planned to do is achieved. This is a collective responsibility between the government, private sector and development partners
,’ he stated.
Also present were Nyeri governor, Mutahi Kahiga, Nyeri Deputy Governor, Warui Kinanire, Tana Water Works Development Agency (TWWDA)Chief Executive Officer Engineer Philip Gichuki, chairman of the board of directors of TWWDA, Wanyaga Gathaka, Nyeri County Commissioner, Pius Murugu and a host of TWWDA board members.
On his part, Nyeri County Commissioner Pius Murugu said that the county had not been badly affected by the ongoing El Nino rains save for minor cases of landslides that had been reported in Mukurwe-ini constituency.
Murugu however noted that the County Committee on Disaster Management was on high alert to handle expected cases of emergencies from Kieni, Blue Valley in Nyeri town, and in Tetu which he said were prone to experiencing landslides and flooding.
‘We have had a few minor cases of mudslides in Mukurwe-ini but we have a committee and a plan in place to deal with any emergencies that may arise,’ said Murugu.
The CS is on a county tour to commission the Matuto primary school
borehole in Mukurwe-ini. He is later expected in Kieni constituency for the commissioning of Kinyaiti Community borehole in Endarasha and later he will lay the foundation stone for the construction of the Kiawara Wastewater Decentralized treatment facility.
Source: Kenya News Agency