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Naji Al-Ali,
An Artist with Vision
Kasim Abid
"During
the 30 years since I started drawing, I
feel I have been through every Arab prison
and I ask myself: What is there to come
after all this? I was prepared to die defending
just one drawing, because every drawing
is like a drop of water which makes its
way through the minds of people."
- Naji Al-Ali
Throughout
history artists have faced the threat of
violence when their work offended the state
or the political elite. The late Palestinian
cartoonist Naji Al-Ali produced thousands
of cartoons satirizing the powers that be
in the Middle East, and paid the ultimate
price for his 'offensive' expression. On
July 22, 1987 he was shot in the face, at
point blank range, as he left the London
offices of the Al Qabbas newspaper. He died
after laying in a coma for 5 weeks.
Emerging
from humble beginnings in the refugee camps,
for over 30 years he was an uncompromising
critic of a regressive Arab political culture
and of Western intervention in Arab affairs.
Interviews with leading Arab journalists
and poets, former jail mates, his wife and
others give us insight to his unrelenting
commitment to his people, and into his subtly
satirical cartoons that stirred the hearts
of millions of refugees. NAJI AL-ALI, AN
ARTIST WITH VISION examines the forces that
shaped Naji as an artist, as a human being,
and shows how his experiences mirror those
of other exiled Palestinians.
Known
as the Palestinian Malcolm X, Naji is still
the most popular artist in the Arab world,
loved for his defense of the ordinary people,
and for his criticism of repression and
despotism. Paradoxically, strict censorship
and widespread illiteracy in the Arab world
helped Naji to achieve his remarkable success.
His unrelenting cartoons exposed the brutality
of the Israeli army and the hypocrisy of
the PLO, earning him many powerful enemies.
The turning point in Naji's story was the
publication of his cartoon satirizing Egyptian
journalist Rashida Muhran, Yasser Arafat's
official biographer. Arafat was furious
and Naji was forced to leave for London.
Despite
some arrests by Scotland Yard and an investigation
by MI5, the assassin's identity has never
been revealed.
Reviews
"Highly
Recommended! Especially appropriate for
college and university libraries that support
programs in politics, Middle Eastern studies
and the arts. Commemorates the life of a
man who lived according to his ideals and
never forgot his people, even when he was
among the highest paid journalists in the
Arab world. Naji lives on through his cartoons,
and the video makes it possible to share
this controversial artwork with a new audience,
despite persistent attempts at censure."
- Educational Media Reviews Online
"This
valuable film... goes a long way toward
preserving the memory of Naji al-Ali, allowing
future generations to draw inspiration from
this remarkable individual. Does an outstanding
job of introducing not only the personality
of al-Ali, but also the most important events
shaping his work... Includes an excellent
cross-section of the thousands of political
drawings Al-Ali published in his lifetime."
- Al Jadid: A Review & Record of Arab
Culture and Arts
"NAJI
AL-ALI, AN ARTIST WITH VISION offers a valuable
and vital primer into an extraordinary life,
lived in extraordinary times in an unfortunate
land. Al-Ali's cartoons illuminate the [film]
...and offer a wonderful visual documentation
of the pain of Palestine. The history of
the Palestinian struggle can never be recorded
without some reference to the trenchant
cartoons of Naji al-Ali." - Politics
and Culture
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