2009 and 2010 I travelled to Jenin in the West Bank/Palestine. Jenin (also Dschnin or Djenin, Arabic جنين) is an autonomous Palestinian city in the North of the country, which for long time was reckoned as “the martyrs’ (meaning suicide bombers) capital“, since many attackers, who assailed, injured or even killed many Israelis, came here from this city. Despite the bad reputation as “terrorist hamlet” I decided to make my way to the mysterious town end of 2009.
The idea and objective of the project are great as well as admirable in my opinion and I gladly offered my support. So I voluntarily accompanied the development of the project with my camera, but also lent a hand. As an IT administrator, I led the team to the media network of projectors, sound and light technology. My photos were used for promotion in print media, online advertising, and for the press. Through my professional experience, I have been asked whether I want to give lessons for creativity and photography at the Arab American University as a guest lecturer, for what I felt honored and which I very much assumed during my time in Jenin.
With the financial support of numerous private donors, but also well-known international companies, such as JBL or air Berlin, and the energetic help of numerous international and national volunteers we were able to open the best equipped cinema of the West Bank with 3D-Beamern, THX sound system, LED display and solar panels on the roof, in August 2010.
2012 the documentary film “Cinema Jenin – The Story of a Dream” was released in cinemas and shows the hurdles and achievements of the project.
Numbers
Ongoing links
Cinema Jenin official page: www.cinemajenin.org
Support: www.cinemajenin.org/support/index.php?name=support
Wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_Jenin