International Festival of Poetry of Resistance (IPFOR)
Saturday, Oct 13 from 2 to 3:30 pm

Programmed by the Fourth IPFOR, a number of local Toronto poets are presented at Beit Zatoun.

As the Land is the Language: The Life of Mahmoud Darwish (1997)
Saturday, Oct 13 from 3:30 to 5 pm

Part of International Festival of Poetry of Resistance at Beit Zatoun, Simone Bitton's acclaimed documentary on the life, work and poetry of Mahmoud Darwish, considered "Palestine's national poet." 

Celebrated Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish died on August 9, 2008, at 67, after open-heart surgery. He was one of the most powerful voices of the Arab World. His poetry touched upon personal topics including family, exile, marginalization and identity with universal appeal. His works have been translated into more than 25 languages, and became a source of inspiration for Khalifé as with many other artists.

A poet of exile par excellence, Darwish died in exile. The village of his birth in western Galilee (near Akka), al-Birwa has been demolished, and in its place Moshav Ahihud was built in 1950. Simone Bitton's 1997 documentary film Mahmoud Darwish: As the Land Is the Language traces some of the paths of Darwish's exile.

Bitton interviews Darwish about his art, life, and relationship with his homeland. His life and the development of his art are retraced. Readings of Darwish's work by the poet himself are set against scenes of the Palestinian countryside and serve to highlight the way in which the land is conjured up and recreated in his verse.

About Director
Simone Bitton was born in Morocco in 1955 and lives in Paris. She directed more than 15 documentary films, all of them attest to her deep personal and professional commitment to better representing the complex histories and cultures of the Middle East and North Africa. She describes herself as an "Arab Jew". Her film, WALL, from 2004 was presented in prestigious international festivals where it has won numerous grand prizes and was widely distributed theatrically. Her latest film released in 2009, Rachel, looks at the killing of Rachel Corrie in 2003 in Gaza.

1997| France | Simone Bitton | 60 minutes | English and Arabic | subtitles

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Need to know:
- Doors open at 1:45
- Free, donations welcome
- Accessible on demand via portable ramp; washrooms not accessible

Tasty refreshments (non-alcoholic) and Zatoun oliveoil+za'atar dipping.