The Roller, The Life, The Fight
Hazem Alqaddi, Elettra Bisogno, 2024, 90′
In English and Arabic, with Dutch subtitles
Hazem arrives in Belgium after a painful journey from Gaza. At the same time, Elettra also arrived in Brussels to study documentary film. Their first moments together were revealing and triggered a desire to get to know each other through the medium of film. The camera became a tool for listening to and transforming each other. Through the images of their lives, we are plunged into the details and adventures of the meeting of two worlds. The act of recording is a commitment to justice, and their movements reveal their desire to resist a divided society. Hazem and Elettra are confronted with the rigidity of the asylum procedure and must remain strong and united. Will they be able to cope together? It’s an exile, an internal migration to meet up where the outlook is gentler and more equal.
Directors Elettra Bisogno and Hazem Alqaddi will be present and in conversation with the audience after the screening.
Hazem Alqaddi (1998) is Palestinian, a graduate of UNRWA schooling in Gaza and arrived in Belgium in 2018 yearning for a new life outside a besieged Palestine. He is passionate about rollerblading, kite-making, cooking and storytelling. Driven by a desire to connect with people, he discovered filmmaking in 2019 when he shot Old Child (2020) and has been filming with commitment ever since to express what’s on his heart.
Elettra Bisogno (1993) was born in Italy and grew up in various European cities. After studying graphic design in Italy, where she specialised in experimental printing, she moved to Brussels and instinctively turned towards the moving image. She draws her inspiration from observing and listening to the world, in all its beauty and ugliness. After graduating in 2021 from the KASK School of Arts (Belgium) in the cinema section, she emerged as a documentary filmmaker with two short films, Ultima Cassa (2018) and Old Child (2020).
Infos: https://www.pianofabriek.be/activiteiten/united-screens-palestine-roller-life-fight