At a launching ceremony held Dec. 29 at Rotus restaurant, Maimas for Media Production formally announced the planning of Gaza’s first comedy festival to be held March 2017.
The ceremony, which the organizers offered as a positive end to a difficult year for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, included theatrical performances and comedy shows by five Palestinian comedians and live bands.
The ceremony featured a short performance by famous Korean stand-up comedian Wonho Chung, who speaks fluent Arabic. In a previously recorded video, Chung expressed his admiration for the residents of the Gaza Strip, praising their steadfastness in the face of the siege and harsh living conditions and saying that comedy and laughter are powerful ways to ease the pain and grief of everyday reality.
Chung said he will participate in the comedy festival and expressed hope that the shows will bring smiles to the sad faces of the people of Gaza.
The five Palestinian stand-up comics interacted with the audience and provoked laughter. One of them, Hesham Adnan, told Al-Monitor, “It is a nice opportunity to conclude 2016 with [the announcement of] a comedy festival, the first of its kind in Palestine.”
He noted that the Gaza festival will be similar to comedy festivals organized across the capitals of the Arab world, such as Marrakech in Morocco, and it will specifically attract young participants. “The comedy festival is an opportunity for the youth to discover their talents and practice their hobbies. The Gaza Strip is full of young talent,” he said.
He added, “I felt how much people in Gaza needed to laugh to escape their bleak reality.”
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The director of Maimas for Media Production, Mahmoud Madi, said the festival will be a stand-up comedy show. Madi told Al-Monitor that its main goal is to call attention to the Gaza Strip and relay a message: “This geographical piece of land is full of life, culture and art. Its people deserve to have festivals, to laugh and to entertain themselves.”
A law school graduate, David Lange transitioned from work in the oil and hi-tech industries into fulltime Israel advocacy. He is a respected commentator and Middle East analyst who has often been cited by the mainstream media
A law school graduate, David Lange transitioned from work in the oil and hi-tech industries into fulltime Israel advocacy. He is a respected commentator and Middle East analyst who has often been cited by the mainstream media
