Cinema Saver

[Ceasar Doyle]

Thatbrings the West Newton Cinema effort to Phase 2, which involves renovating the cinema to incorporate film festivals, author events and other uses for the building in addition to the mainstream movies the cinema shows.

In total, the effort has been trying to raise $14 million for purchase and renovation of the property, so getting to the purchase goal was only the beginning, and the group is asking for donations to keep their momentum going.

The Newton Beacon is an independent, nonprofit, and nonpartisan digital news organization reporting exclusively on Newton, Massachusetts. It is operated by the Newton News Foundation, a 501c3 nonprofit organization led by a local, volunteer board of directors.

GAZA - It has been 30 years since Gazans have enjoyed the communal experience and joy of watching a movie at a cinema. The residents' lives are blighted by power cuts - a crisis that was precipitated by the Israeli bombing of the territory's power plant in the 2006 war.

The Samer was established in 1944 but closed after the Israeli attack on Gaza in 1967. Following the war, other cinemas were reopened but Al-Samer remained closed. With the outbreak of the first Palestinian uprising in 1987, all cinemas were closed. Two girls look at the posters for the feature film Ten Years, showing at the Al-Samer cinema in Gaza (MEE/Abed Khaled)

"We chose to have the premiere of the film free at the Samer Cinema, a symbolic place, in an attempt to recreate cinema in Gaza. A group of critics and specialists in the field of television and cinema also attended the premiere," she added.

The premiere of the film received widespread media coverage and won the admiration of critics, who considered it a breakthrough in the production of full-length films in the territory, which has been under blockade from Israel and Egypt for years.

"The film won my admiration, being produced in the Gaza Strip, which suffers from a lack of material resources and the absence of a fertile environment for filmmaking, and deserves to be supported and encouraged," said Abed Alhakim Abu Daqen, one of the attendees at the premiere of the film at Al-Samer Cinema.

"It's good to reopen the cinema in the Gaza Strip. We hope [other] cinemas will be re-developed and reopen because the Palestinians need the change and to experience the cinema," she told Middle East Eye.

The Palestinian Ministry of Culture closed the venue the next day, as it was not yet equipped for processing and screening films. However, members of the audience saw it as a first step toward reactivating cinema culture in the Gaza Strip.

There was a much smaller audience for the screening at the Said al-Almesshal theatre in Gaza City on Monday night, compared to its packed first showing at the old Samer Cinema. The cost of the tickets was clearly a turn off for some.

"I did not have a chance to attend the movie at Samer Cinema, but watching it in a theatre is certainly not the same feeling as watching it in a cinema," she told Middle East Eye. "I hope I experience this [in the future]."

"Al-Samer cinema and seven others in the Gaza Strip are owned by the private sector, not by the government. However, after the death of their owners, problems arose among the heirs, and other legal problems that have not yet been solved, so it is still closed.

"These problems have prevented the plan of rehabilitation and reconstruction of cinemas, such as Al-Samer, which was bombed by Israel in 1967, and was burned again as a result of internal fighting between Hamas and Fatah in 2006," Askoul said.

"We also had difficulty with the electricity issue, since photography needed lighting and decoration, and we tried to overcome that problem by alternative generators, also the same problem occurred in the film editing process."

But despite these obstacles, Alaloul believes there is a future for film-making in the strip. "We want to encourage businessmen to invest their money in making feature films in Gaza at a time when there are no special academies to teach filmmaking here," said Alaloul.

"There are difficulties in Gaza. First, the weakness of the locations for filming. Second, the absence of prominent representatives able to market the film. Third, the lack of Palestinian viewers' confidence in the local product. Finally, the problem of electricity that affects the film industry," he concluded.

With plenty of exciting new releases out now, it's a great time to plan a visit and make use of our discounted cinema tickets from Monday to Wednesday. From the nostalgic Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire to the family adventure Kung Fu Panda 4 and the all-action Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, we've got must-see movies for everyone.

Yossy is a filmmaker who specializes mainly in action sports cinematography. Yossy also lectures about the art of independent filmmaking in leading educational institutes, academic programs, and festivals, and his independent films have garnered international awards and recognition.

Yossy is the founder of Y.M.Cinema Magazine.

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