Lens Politica Film and Media Art Festival, which is held annually in Finnish capital Helsinki, meet the audience between16-20 November, with the main theme of resistance. The festival also shows the documentary films by the film makers David Segarra and Iara Lee who were onboard Mavi Marmara, the leading vessel of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, and witnessed the deadly Israeli attack on the flotilla.

 

The film “Fire on the Marmara (2011)”  by Venezuelan activist, journalist and documentary film maker David Segarra, is presented to audience as the festival’s opening. In his documentary, Segarra analyses the themes of oppressor, the oppressed and resistance heading from  the Israeli attack that he personally witnessed and voices the suffering of people victimized by historical events such as the Holocaust, mass migration, and the 1973 military coup in Chile.

Another participant of the festival is Korean-Brazilian activist Iara Lee. Like Segarra, she was onboard the Mavi Marmara on 31 May 2011 and she was the only person who managed to sneak video footage of the attack out of the boat and was able to release it. The footage, Lee managed to hide from Israeli soldiers and sneaked out of the boat, was later submitted as evidence to the United Nations commission investigating the deadly Israeli attack. Lee’s film to be presented to Finnish documentary lovers is titled “Cultures of Resistance.” The film that contains video footage from conflict zones in South America, Africa and the Middle East focuses on resistance-inspired art works.

Israeli-Swedish activists Dror Feiler will also join a talk together with Segarra. Feiler, who is also a musician, was also on board Mavi Marmara and witnessed the deadly attack. He chairs Sweden-based Jews for Israeli–Palestinian Peace and Europe-based European Jews for a Just Peace organizations.

Ümit Sönmez, Mavi Marmara activist and IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation Deputy Chair for Communication, and attorney of the Mavi Marmara victims Cihat Gökdemir were among those invited to the festival. Following showing of documentary films Sönmez and Gökdemir responded to questions of the audience regarding the Mavi Marmara attack.