Gawler will host the South Australian premiere of the international film The Stones Cry Out.

Six years in the making, The Stones Cry Out documents the plight of the remaining, often forgotten, Christians still living in Palestine.

The screening is jointly supported by the Gawler Inter Church Council, the Palestine-Israel Ecumenical Network, and the Australian Friends of Palestine Association.

Local Gawler resident, and member of the Palestine-Israel Ecumenical Network, and the Australian Friends of Palestine Association, Raffaele Piccolo, said that the purpose of the film is to bring attention to the plight of the forgotten Christian community still residing in the Holy Land.

“People are aware of the Israel-Palestine conflict as we often read of it in the local newspaper, or see glimpses of it on our nightly TV news programs, but such reports ignore the fact that the land on which the conflict takes place is the birthplace of Christianity”, Mr Piccolo said.

“Christians continue to live there and such reports ignore the Christian voice in this conflict.”

Today, there are roughly 200,000 Christians in the Holy Land and they are descendants of some of the oldest Christian communities in the world.

Mr Piccolo said the majority of Christians are Greek Orthodox, with smaller numbers of Roman Catholics, Armenian Orthodox, Copts, Episcopalians, Ethiopian Orthodox, Greek Catholics, Lutherans, Maronites, Syrian Orthodox, and several other Protestant denominations.

Christians living in the Holy Land suffer from restrictions on their movement, and confiscation of lands.

These restrictions have been in place in some shape or form for a period of 50 years and as a result of these difficulties, the Christian population in the Holy Land continues to dwindle as many emigrate.

The film draws on interviews with local Christians leaders, including Elias Chacour, the former Archbishop of Akko, Haifa, Nazareth and All Galilee of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, and Patriarch Emeritus Michel Sabbah, the former Archbishop and Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.

“They give voice to the Christian experience, too often drowned out in the turmoil of these events in the Holy Land”, Mr Piccolo said.

“In sum, The Stones Cry Out, recounts the unwavering and often desperate, and, sadly, mostly failing, struggle of the local Christian population to resist the occupation and stay on their land.”

Secretary of the Gawler Inter Church Council , Mrs Gill Caunce, said that the Inter Church Council was pleased to be involved, and to support the screening of The Stones Cry Out.

“It is rare for Gawler to host the South Australian premiere of any film, let alone an international film”, said Ms Caunce.

“We hope that many local residents take the opportunity to be among the first in South Australia to see this impressive film”.

The screening will be followed by a short question and answer session chaired by Mr Mike Khizam, Executive Officer of the Australian Friends of Palestine Association.

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Information booklets, and copies of the film and books on the topic (for purchase) will also be available on the evening.

Thanks to the support of the Gawler Inter Church Council, the Palestine-Israel Ecumenical Network, and the Australian Friends of Palestine Association, admission to the screening is a gold coin donation.

The film screening will take place at the Gawler Cinemas, Murray Street, Gawler on 16 October 2017 at 7.00pm.

Bookings can be made online at www.trybooking.com/RWDQ, or via contact@pien.org.au.