In Old Child van Elettra Bisogno en Hazem Alqaddi schetsen droomachtige, onscherpe beelden de herinneringen van Hazem, die uit Gaza migreerde naar België. Halverwege de kortfilm, wanneer hij steile trappen af dendert, leren we dat Hazem een rolschaatser is. Meer dan een moment van kinderlijke vreugde middenin een stroom van complexere beelden en traumatische herinneringen die voor Hazem’s geestesoog verschijnen, symboliseert het rolschaatsen een verlangen naar beweging — in sterk contrast met de beperkingen op de bewegingsvrijheid van de Palestijnen in de context van hun koloniale bezetting.
part of
double bill #21
Old Child
Cinéma du Réel
2020
DocLisboa
2020
Old Child depicts the fragmented story of Hazem, who had to flee Gaza. Throughout this stream-of-consciousness montage of dreams and reminiscences, he searches for order but also for the beauty he left behind.
Bio Elettra Bisogno
Born in Italy in 1993, Elettra Bisogno grew up in various European cities. After studying graphic design in Italy, where she specializes in experimental printmaking, she moves to Brussels and instinctively turns to the moving image. She draws inspiration and forges herself from watching and listening to the world, in its beauty and its injustice. Graduating in 2021 from KASK & Conservatorium in the film programme, she emerges as a documentary filmmaker with two short films: Ultima Cassa (2018) and Old Child (2020). She is now working with Mohanad Yaqubi on the research project, Aesthetics of Transnational Solidarity, at KASK & Conservatorium.
Bio Hazem Alqaddi
Hazem Alqaddi (1998) graduated from the UNRWA Schools in Gaza and arrived in Belgium in 2018, eager for a new life outside of occupied Palestine. He is a passionate rollerblader, kitemaker, chef, and storyteller. He discovered filmmaking in 2019 when he co-directed Old Child (2020) and has been recording with commitment ever since to express what’s on his mind. His feature debut, made together with Elettra Bisogno,The Roller, The Life, The Fight, premiered in 2024.
Credits
Cast
Camera
Editor
Sound
Music
Ali Zeitoune, Fausto Romitelli
Producer
Geoffrey Devolder
Production
Tahin Productions