Filmmaker Mahdi Fleifel is one of the highlights of this year’s Curtas Vila do Conde – International Film Festival, where he will present two of his most acclaimed short films: I Signed the Petition (2018) and Handshakes for Peace (2023). The session will also feature a public conversation moderated by journalist Jorge Mourinha, in which Fleifel will discuss his creative process, his views on political documentary, and his personal engagement with the Palestinian cause.

Born in Dubai and raised in the Ain el-Helweh refugee camp in southern Lebanon, Fleifel has developed a cinematic language deeply rooted in experiences of exile, resistance, and memory. His work is defined by its intimate tone and strong political commitment, blending documentary precision with emotional depth. The camera, for Fleifel, is both a tool for witnessing and a means of empathy — a way to give voice to those who are too often unheard.

Films such as A World Not Ours (2012), A Man Returned (2016), A Drowning Man (2017), and Xenos (2014) create a vivid and necessary portrait of displaced Palestinian communities — their everyday struggles, hopes, and unyielding fight for dignity. Yet it is perhaps in I Signed the Petition that the essence of his cinema becomes clearest: a seemingly simple act — signing a petition urging Radiohead not to perform in Tel Aviv — becomes the starting point for a profound reflection on individual activism, political conscience, and the complex burden of Palestinian identity in a world that too often tries to silence it.

The festival will host the national premiere of his latest film, To a Land Unknown (2024), which had its world premiere at the Directors' Fortnight of the Cannes Film Festival. This special session aligns with Curtas Vila do Conde’s ongoing mission to highlight meaningful voices that engage with the most pressing issues of our time. By bringing Fleifel and his work to the festival, the event creates a rare space for open dialogue on identity, belonging, collective responsibility, and the power of cinema as a tool for social justice.

The presence of Mahdi Fleifel at Curtas Vila do Conde is therefore more than a film screening — it is a moment of encounter between art and politics, between personal stories and global realities, and a gesture of resistance that resonates far beyond the cinema screen.



Check out all the films in this In Focus program by the director at www.festival.curtas.pt.