The Gaza International Women’s Film Festival and the Jerusalem International Film Festival, under the leadership of their founder and president, Dr. Ezzedeen Shallah, will organize a condolence gathering in honor of the late renowned Palestinian artist Mohammad Bakri on Wednesday, December 31, 2025, at the headquarters of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate in Deir al-Balah. The event will be attended by official, cultural, artistic, and community figures.
Dr. Shallah stated that the gathering will include memorial speeches highlighting the late artist’s achievements and his national and artistic journey. Palestinian Minister of Culture Imad Hamdan will participate through a short recorded message addressing Bakri’s cultural and national contributions, his artistic legacy, and his role in defending the Palestinian narrative.
The late artist’s son, Saleh Mohammad Bakri, will also deliver a live online address to attendees, reflecting on key moments from his father’s life and celebrating his artistic and human legacy.
Shallah noted that representatives of artistic and cultural institutions will participate in the event, including a speech on behalf of the Palestinian Artists Union and another by the President of the Federation of Cultural Centers in Palestine, affirming the late artist’s prominent place in Palestinian and Arab cultural memory.
The condolence gathering will also feature a speech by the Palestinian Writers’ Union, highlighting Mohammad Bakri’s impact on Palestinian and Arab cultural consciousness and his role in transforming art into a living testimony of national memory. In addition, the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate will deliver a speech emphasizing Bakri’s position as a principled figure and a free voice, recalling his relationship with both word and image as tools for revealing truth in the face of attempts at distortion.
The event will include tributes and literary testimonies presented by a number of writers and poets, reflecting on the late artist’s life, his national positions, and his humanitarian values.
Dr. Shallah emphasized that organizing the condolence gathering is a recognition of the symbolic significance of Mohammad Bakri, who was one of the most prominent Palestinian artistic voices advocating for the national cause. He faced persecution and targeting because of his positions and artistic works, particularly his documentary film Jenin, Jenin, which exposed the crimes of the occupation and contributed to strengthening the Palestinian narrative in global awareness.
He added that the gathering is also an expression of gratitude for the late artist’s remarkable career and a tribute to his national and artistic contributions, stressing that Mohammad Bakri’s legacy will remain alive in Palestinian and Arab memory and that his name will continue to symbolize committed art and the free voice of truth.
