Fedayin: The Struggle of Georges Abdallah (Vacarmes, 2020)

Sunday 3rd December 2023, Movie night – Fedayin: The Struggle of Georges Abdallah (Vacarmes, 2020). 81 min. Documentary with English subtitles. Doors open at 20:00, intro & film start at 20:30.

Fedayin: The Struggle of Georges Abdallah traces the course of an indefatigable Arab Communist and fighter for Palestine. From the Palestinian refugee camps that shaped his conscience to international mobilizations for his release, we will explore the situation of one of the longest-held political prisoners in Europe.

Synopsis: For over 35 years, Georges Ibrahim Abdallah has been imprisoned. A Lebanese communist engaged in resistance alongside Palestinian fighters, he has been imprisoned by the French judicial system and successive governments since 1984. Beyond the judicial harassment to which he has been subjected, this documentary film will trace the political course of Georges Abdallah and seeks to show how his ideas and struggle are still vital and necessary.

This film about the critically important case of Georges Ibrahim Abdallah includes interviews with Samidoun international coordinator Charlotte Kates, Samidoun Europe coordinator Mohammed Khatib, Campaign to Free Ahmad Sa’adat coordinator Khaled Barakat and many others, including Robert and Maurice Abdallah (Georges’ brothers), Jean-Louis Chalanset (Georges’ lawyer), Suzanne le Manceau (co-founder of the Collectif pour la Libération de Georges Ibrahim Abdallah (CLGIA)), Bertrand Sassoye (former political prisoner) and Jean-Marc Rouillan (former political prisoner).

The film takes us to Lebanon, to the Palestinian refugee camps, where he forged himself politically. We follow his engagement in the Palestinian resistance and against the Israeli occupation with the FARL (Lebanese Revolutionary Armed Fractions), a commitment that will take him to France in the 1980s, where he will be sentenced for complicity in murder. Through a series of interviews (in France, Lebanon, Belgium and Germany), we go to meet his family, his lawyer, his supporters, his friends and people who have rubbed shoulders with him. With them, we trace a life of resistance to imperialism and Zionist occupation.

Film night at Joe’s Garage, cozy cinema! Free entrance. You want to screen a movie, let us know: joe [at] lists [dot] squat [dot] net