Palestinian Director Abu Saleh was at our University
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The first of the “Director Interviews” event series organized by the Media and Communication Department of the Faculty of Communication was held at Istanbul Ticaret University Sütlüce Campus with the participation of Palestinian Director Nawras Abu Saleh. Before the talk event moderated by the Cinema Critic – Writer Mr. İhsan Kabil, Director Mr. Abu Saleh’s movie entitled “Oversized Coat”, about Israel’s oppression of Palestine, was screened.
At the talk event also attended by the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Istanbul Ticaret University Dr. Israfil Kuralay and Istanbul Ticaret University Rector Prof. Dr. Abdulhamit Avşar, Mr. Kabil expressed his views on Palestinian cinema and drew attention to the importance of creating a good cinema culture.
“NOTHING HAS CHANGED SINCE THE TIME WE MADE THIS MOVIE”
Mr. Kabil made evaluations after the film screening. He said, “The fact that the movie featured satire, wit and black humor while expressing the difficulties, massacre and cruelty played an important role in making it a more valuable production.”
Mr. Nawras Abu Saleh has emphasized how painful and undeniable the oppression is with the following words: “Nothing has changed since the time we made this movie. We are experiencing the same things today. As someone who lived in Palestine for 20 years, I saw the First and Second Intifadas. One movie is not enough to explain all these.”
Mr. Abu Saleh also touched upon the mishandling of the Israel-Palestine issue in Israeli and US-made movies, and stated that most of the things shown in his movie entitled “Oversized Coat” are an expression of what he experienced in his own life. He said, “My father was a doctor, I used to throw away the bloody cloths of the injured people who came to our house. I used to walk in the sewers. My grandmother would be moved to the hospital.” Mr. Abu Saleh gave examples of the events and scenes in the movie from his own life.
Mr. Abu Saleh also answered questions posed by the participants. In this context, he answered the question “Why did you call the movie Oversized Coat?” as follows: “One day, my mother saw me in her dream. In her dream, I was wearing an oversized coat and she was very scared. When I asked what this meant, she said that I would bear great responsibilities. Some time after that, in 2005, my father passed away while fighting cancer. All these, like an ‘Oversized Coat’, were too much for me. I was studying engineering at that time. After I got my engineering degree, I went on and studied cinema. The oversized coat was always on my mind because it represents both me and Palestine”
Finally, drawing attention to the current events in Palestine, Mr. Abu Saleh concluded his words as follows: “What happened in Gaza is much more than a trauma. If you go into the background of people’s lives, you will understand why they show resistance. The movie ‘Oversized Coat’ touches upon this background, thus turning into a classic didactic movie.”
Following the talk event, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Istanbul Ticaret University Dr. Israfil Kuralay presented a Plaque of Appreciation to Director Mr. Nawras Abu Saleh and Cinema Critic, Writer Mr. İhsan Kabil for their participation.
News Report by Bedirhan Ulaş
