GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — “Turn them off? Off?” asked an employee of the Rashad Shawa Cultural Center in Gaza City repeatedly as he talked on his cellphone. Once he received a clear answer from the director of the center, he headed to the small control room at the far end of the hall teeming with more than 1,000 attendees, who sat on chairs, lay on the floor or stood leaning against the walls. This was the moment the debate started — should the lights be turned off or not?
On May 12, the second annual Red Carpet Film Festival opened with a screening of the film “Ya Tayr El Tayer” ("The Idol"), a biopic about Gazan singer Mohammed Assaf, the winner of the TV show "Arab Idol" in 2013. It was the film's premiere in the Gaza Strip.
Half an hour after the film started, the audience clapped as the theater employee turned off the main lights that had prevented them from clearly seeing the screen. But the cheering was short-lived as the same employee turned the lights back on 10 minutes later.
Al-Monitor had overheard the employee’s telephone conversation and asked him why he turned the lights back on despite having received authorization to turn them off. He replied, “It wasn't me, it was the security services. Yes, the center’s director authorized that, but the security officers do not want complete darkness,” as he pointed to the security services’ official, a 20-something man in civilian clothes who is affiliated with the Interior Ministry.
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