Checkpoint 300 by Ahmad Al-Bazz, Anne Paq, Haidi Motola (Palestine, 2017, 4’)

Thousands of Palestinian workers queue in Bethlehem every day before dawn to pass through the Israeli Checkpoint 300. Checkpoint 300 is the main crossing point for Palestinians from all over the southern West Bank who work in Jerusalem and other cities beyond the Green Line. Checkpoint 300 is a short film created by Activestills, a collective of Israeli, Palestinian and international photographers, united in the belief that photography is a tool for political and social change. It is part of a larger project documenting several “workers’ checkpoints” throughout the West Bank to show how checkpoints are not an issue of border control between two sovereign countries, but rather means of controlling the Palestinian population.

Ahmad Al-Bazz (Palestine, 1993) is an award-winning journalist, photographer and documentary filmmaker based in Nablus (West Bank). In 2014, he graduated from An-Najah National University (Nablus) with a BA degree in Media and Mass Communication. In 2018, he obtained an MA degree in Television Studies from the University of East Anglia (UK). He has been a member of the Activestills since 2012. Between 2015 and 2017, Ahmad worked as a cameraman and video editor for Palemedia, the largest Palestinian news agency. He is currently directing his first full-length documentary. Anne Paq (France, 1976) is a award-winning freelance photographer and videographer who had lived and worked in Palestine for over a decade. She has been a member of Activestills since 2006. Her work has been exhibited worldwide and published in various media outlets such as the NY Times Lens, Paris Match, le Nouvel Observateur, Stern, the Guardian, Haaretz. She co-produced the award-winning documentary “Flying Paper” (2013). In 2014, she documented the Israeli military operation Protective Edge and its aftermath in the Gaza Strip. She is the co-author of the award-winning web documentary “Obliterated Families”, which earned her the International Photographer of the Year award in 2017. In 2016 she won an honorable mention at the Moscow International Foto Awards.

Haidi Motola (Haifa, 1982) is a visual artist working in particular with photography and video. Her works deal with various socio-political issues and documentary practices. Motola completed her MFA degree at the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts after studying photography and cinema in Tel Aviv. She often works in collaborative project and has been a member of Activestills since 2016. Her works have been exhibited in galleries, museums, festivals, and various media outlets.

Nazra - Palestine Short Film Festival 2019