Fierté nationale : de Jéricho vers Gaza – Sven Augustijnen

In the wake of Palestinian memory, National Pride: From Jericho to Gaza follows Hassan Al Balawi, a diplomat based in Brussels, returning to his homeland on the occasion of the fifteenth anniversary of the death of Yasser Arafat—a tutelary figure of the liberation struggle and leader of the PLO. Filmed in 2019, the film traces his journey from Jericho to the Gaza border, through an occupied West Bank where every checkpoint, every landscape, bears the imprint of broken promises. 

This intimate journey sketches the portrait of a struggle in suspense: between the broken momentum of the peace process born from the Oslo Accords and the shockwave of the tragedies of October 7, 2023. In this intertwining of memory and present, a narrative of disillusionment and of persistence emerges, where the unfinished quest for justice and freedom continues to haunt bodies, voices, and territories.
 

The exhibition is part of Sven Augustijnen PhD defence, which will take part at Malmö Art Academy 2 October. It will also include a selection of research material used in the doctoral thesis.