Cinema Jenin is coming soon… that was our message at the first press conference we had last week on Wednesday. Meeting place was the German Arab Society in Berlin-Moabit – a part of the Capital that isn’t as noble as one someone acquainted with the area would expect this kind of official première to take place in. But: The place was charming, colourful and exactly that what we wanted! A warm atmosphere, perfect lighting for the ongoing film project and very nice hosts like Mr. Bock and Mrs. Darwisch who made everything go so smooth.

We started at 2 o’clock in the afternoon with interesting guests and about 40 journalists. They worked for different media: Deutsche Welle, an Italian newspaper, SWR and many others. The speakers who represented our project Martin Kobler - head of the Culture section in the German State Department, Ismael Khatib – protagonist from “Heart of Jenin”, Fakhri Hamad – Manager Cinema Jenin, Marcus Vetter - Director, Jörg Schumacher - Head of Ramallah section of the Goethe Institute, and Boris Palmer – Mayor of the Southern German city of Tübingen, talked about perspectives, hopes and visions. Sabine Schmincke, a PR professional and spokeswoman of the city of Tübingen, made the talk a success.

Journalists always have a lot of questions which helps bringing the project out of the darkness into the public light. (Actually, the cinema never disappeared in darkness, it merely was sleeping in the years after 1989 just to arise in August 2010) However, one particular question suddenly caught everyone’s attention: “Why don’t build this cinema in Gaza where poor people would need it much more than the Palestinians in the West Bank do?” Whooosh!!! This question of an Arabic correspondent (I still do not know if he was Palestinian or from another Arabic country) animated Marcus and Jörg to react: “I only can make a film about people that I know personally”, Marcus answered confidently and Jörg pointed out that the Goethe Institute had opened a library a few weeks ago in Gaza-City, and nevertheless he does not see any reason for not supporting cinema culture in Jenin.

Oh, happy day!
Beside all professional topics, another aspect of the press conference was very important for us – the meeting of our team. People are interested in Cinema Jenin, they come and see and sometimes they want participate with their skills and ideas. For me as a “newcomer” it was a perfect occasion to meet the team that existed from the beginning.

And yet another vital enrichment of our project was finished for the press conference: Thanks to our printcompany Flyerwire. Cinema Jenin can now advertise with stylish postcards, flyers, posters and huge banners. Thank you for your magnificent support!! Also special thanks to Michael Bartneck from Bartneck Print Artists in Berlin! In the very last moment, he kindly helped us out by printing and sponsoring our press information.

It is so nice to experience the ongoing spontaneous support the project is getting! It was also a good vibration with Tamir, co-founder of Cinema Jenin e.V., who came from Warsaw particularly for this press conference!

It was a rich day with a lot of input, and the evening we spent with a delicious dinner in one of Dagmar’s favourite restaurant “Honingmond” in Berlin-Mitte, founded in 1920. This restaurant survived the DDR (German Democratic Republic) and the wall. How lovely is this thougt: To know that you are sitting together in a place with such a long, great history – just like the Cinema in Jenin, which is coming soon…

Liva H. am 8.12.09