|
 Anjwka, 38, who had worked as a teacher in Aleppo until she
had to flee the fighting there three months ago, making her way
to Germany via Turkey and the Balkans, said she had enjoyed
Israeli director Udi Aloni's "Junction 48", about a Palestinian
rap star.
She and about a dozen other Syrians and Iraqis who stay in a
cavernous shelter in east Berlin saw the film on Saturday.
"It's not only a movie and a story, it's what's happening in
real life," she said, adding: "I like that it is an Israeli
director, working with Palestinians."
But Abdullah Saleh, 24, a refugee from Damascus accompanying the
group, said he'd noticed that Anjwka and another woman sitting
beside her, both wearing headscarves, had looked uncomfortable
when the characters in the film swore in Arabic.
"In our culture it's not good to say those words in front of
women," Saleh said. He had also noticed that when the two lead
characters were kissing, Anjwka "was playing with her phone".
The film festival that began in 1951 when Germany -- and Europe
-- were recovering from a war that had uprooted millions of
people is making an extra effort to welcome the latest wave of
refugees who have fled war in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere.
Refugees are being taken behind the scenes of the festival, some
accompanied by NGO workers who are helping them to adjust to
life in Germany. There is also a refugee-staffed food truck
serving up Mediterranean fare with the aid of a celebrity chef.
If Anjwka and the other refugees from the shelter had not gone
to the cinema, they would have had little else to do, said Mira
Sophie Walter, a volunteer.
[to top of second column] |
"I think it's important to get the people out," Walter said. "They
live in a hall, they don't have a room or anything, or privacy.
We're trying to get them to have a bit of fun."
But what some find diverting may bother or anger others. This was
the case for some refugees who attended a screening of the Tunisian
film "Inhebbek Hedi" (Hedi), about a young car salesman who, on the
eve of his wedding, falls in love with a tourist guide at a seaside
resort -- with mildly steamy sex scenes ensuing.
Khairallah Swaid, 25, a Syrian refugee who arrived in Germany in
July, said he knew in advance the film contained explicit scenes.
But he came out disappointed at the way the film had portrayed Arab
society -- with Hedi's fling with the guide apparently tolerated by
his family, though they do not approve.
"This is not the truth. There is no such thing in the Arab world. It
reflects a negative image of Arab traditions and customs," Swaid
said.
"I will integrate in society and will be part of your culture but I
want to preserve my Muslim culture."
(Additional reporting by Swantje Stein and Joseph Nasr; Writing by
Michael Roddy; Editing by Ros Russell)
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