Lebanon and Palestine: two peoples fighting imperialism

Screening history
In February 2008 it has been shown in Cagliari (Italy) at 6th International Palestinian Film Festival and in March 2008 in Cairo (Egypt) at 6th Cairo Conference.

Documentary film description
Format DVD
Runtime 60 minutes
Directed and edited by Mariella Megna
Written by Giorgio Riboldi
Produced by L’altra Lombardia – SU LA TESTA
Release date 2008 (Italian and English version)
First part: Lebanon geopolitical introduction (from its origin to the last Israeli aggression in 2006)
Second part: Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon ( Beddawi, Nahr el Bared and others) and topical political subjects (the election of the new President, the adversaries and their positions with some interviews).

Synopsis
Members of L’altra Lombardia – SU LA TESTA shooted this documentary film during a visit in Lebanon organized by ‘Not ot forget Sabra e Chatila’ Committee.
They paid special attention to the South of Lebanon and the Palestinian refugee camps, Bourj el Shemali (Tyre), Bourj el Baranjeh and Shatilla (Beyrouth), Beddawi and Nahr el Bared (Tripoli).
It is an attempt to tell the story of this country from its origin to the last Israeli aggression, investigating Khiam’s prison, Sabra and Chatila massacre and the situation in the Palestinian refugee camps.
In particular you can see Narh el Bared refugee camp razed to the ground by the Lebanese army and its inhabitants forced to live in the near-by Beddawi refugee camp’s schools.
There are also the interviews to a member of the opposition and to PFLP’s secretary-general in Lebanon, who talk about the present political situation.
This documentary film is intended to be a mean of understanding Lebanon’s complex political events, consequently all the first part is dedicated to its historical reconstruction.
In the second part the Palestinian refugees’ situation and the topical political subjects are treated.
This documentary film is dedicated to the reporter Stefano Chiarini, the “Per non dimenticare Sabra e Chatila” Committee’s founder, to George Habash, the PFLP’s founder, and to Ahmed Sa’adat, the PFLP’s general secretary, jailed in Israel at present, and to all political prisoners and peoples fighting imperialism.

Production note
This a militant work completely self financed and all equipments used are private (camera, PC, softwares)

L’altra Lombardia – SU LA TESTA
www.laltralombardia.it

Who we are
WHO WE ARE
L’altra Lombardia– SU LA TESTA is a marxist, antifascist, progressive, democratic political-cultural association founded in January 2000 in Milan, in order to contribute to contrast the political, cultural and moral decline of great part of the left.
The initiative is originally promoted by labourers, employers, teachers and intellectuals coming from leftist political and union areas.
L’altra Lombardia – SU LA TESTA introduced itself to regional elections in 2000. The candidate for the presidency of the Lombardy (district in the north of Italy) was Giorgio Riboldi.
Giorgio Riboldi is a founder of the association; he is a teacher and has been national exponent of trade unions.
OUR ASSOCIATES are engaged in their job places, in the schools and on the territory in order to defend the interests of people and the rights of workers.

WHAT WE WANT
We want one free and democratic society, based not more on the violence and the exploitation of the capitalism and international imperialism. We want to contribute, with our daily engagement, to maintain alive the hope of struggle for the construction of a different world, freed from the slavery of the wage-earning job and from the violence of the capitalistic production relations.
We want transparency and participation of the citizens in the management of the public thing.
We want to give voice to that “Other Lombardy” and “Other Italy” that works, produces wealth, does not speculate and must square with the wage eroded by the inflation and the cost of living.

OUR ACTIVITIES
L’altra Lombardia – SU LA TESTA has promoted, together with other associations and political formations, national conventions and seminaries of study on historical and political subjects and the globalization processes, in addition to initiatives for the peace in the world (Bologna 2000, Rome and Florence 2001, Rome 2002 and 2003).
In 2004 L’altra Lombardia – SU LA TESTA introduced itself to elections in some Italian towns.
In 2005- 2006 we have organized two important conventions, one on the dangerousness of the fascists and the other on "Memory and foibe".
We have participated to public initiatives in the anniversary of the 60th of the Antifascist Resistance and have produced an important documentary film about Palestinian refugee camps in Syria and the Apartheid Wall, titled “Questione Palestina: dai campi profughi in Siria al Muro della Vergogna”, after a travel of our delegation in Syria and in the Occupied Territories.
In 2006 e 2007 this film has already been issued in many Italian towns (Milan, Mantova, Pavia, Cremona, Crema, Soresina, Lodi, Brescia, Ravenna, Bra, Torino, Trento, Como, Castiglione delle Stiviere, Viareggio) and other presentations will follow.
In February 2008 we presented our new documentary film “Lebanon and Palestine: two peoples fighting the imperialism” at the 6th international palestinian film festival in Cagliari and other presentations will follow. It is available an English and French version in order to present this documentary film out of Italy .
In this documentary film we present all hystory of Lebanon from the origin to the present, with particular attention for Israeli occupation and aggressions and the horror of Khiam prison, Sabra and Shatila massacre and the situation in the Palestinian refugee camps. There is also an interview to Marwan Abdulal, member of political bureau of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and its chair in Lebanon.
Our engagement and participation to national level have been characterized by an incessant activity of counter-information and by the militant adhesion to movement NO TAV (environment movement).
But the most important activity, together with the production of the documentary films on Palestine, has been the release of our website www.laltralombardia.it that has already had thousands of visits in a few months.
Moreover, we try to give voice to the rights of the Palestinian people and the legitimate armed resistance of this people as well of all the other people in the world (Iraq, Nepal, Venezuela, Bolivia, Colombia ….)
We are the supporters, in Italy, of a call for the freedom of comrades Ahmed Saadat as well as of a call against the repression of the communists and the antifascists.