The Chicago Palestine Film Festival runs Friday, April 16, through Thursday, April 29, at the Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State, 312-828-2800. Tickets are $10, $7 for students, and $5 for Film Center members. Following are selected films screening through Thursday, April 22; for a complete schedule see siskelfilmcenter.org.
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Checkpoint Rock: Songs From Palestine Javier Corcuera and Basque musician Fermin Muguruza profile Palestinians in Israel and the occupied territories who use music as both a balm and a vehicle for their political discontents. The performers in this 2009 video documentary include hip-hop acts (Dam, Safaa Arapiat, Ayman PR) and more traditional Arabic artists (Le Trio Joubran, Sabreen), their segments linked by the 2008 death of poet Mahmoud Darwish, who gave voice to the disenfranchised. Most of the performance footage, shot on urban hillsides and in recording studios, was created specifically for the documentary, which makes for a serious lack of spontaneity. The title song, written by Franco-Iberian superstar Manu Chao, is delivered in a series of overdubs by the respective participants and comes off as a hokey Palestinian “We Are the World.” 73 min. —Peter Margasak Sat 4/17, 8 PM, and Wed 4/21, 6 PM.
