This programme of nine shorts includes the work of young and established Palestinian filmmakers. The first three films reflect directly on the events of the Nakba (the 1948 Catastrophe) and the dream of return through animation, oral testimony and digital technology. The remainder of the programme explores contemporary experiences, through traditional documentary, docu-drama and the film essay.
Part One: History and exile
House
Ahmed Saleh, 2011, 4 mins
The sensitive animation tells a powerful story. For generations, a family lived in a spacious and beautiful house. Guests were always welcome to enjoy a pleasant stay. Until one guest arrived with a different plan in mind.
Alyasiini
Sahera Dirbas, 22 mins
The testament from an elderly Palestinian from the village of Deir Yassin who witnessed the massacre of 1948, an event that changed the course of history for Palestinians.
Your father was born 100 years ago and so was the Nakba
Razan Al Slaah, 2017, 7 mins
Oum Amin, a Palestinian grandmother, returns to her hometown Haifa through Google Maps Streetview.
Part Two: Contemporary dreams and realities
Oslo Syndrom
Ayman Azraq, 6 mins
Journey of a Sofa
Alaa Al Ali, 9 mins
Twenty Handshakes for Peace
Mahdi Fleifel, 3 mins
Message to Obama
Muhannad Salahat, 7 mins
Interference
Anim Nayfeh, 2014, 11 mins
These five films were produced by Palestinian directors 20 years after the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993 and are part of a larger collection of short films called Suspended Time. The films present what feels like a suspended reality of unfulfilled dreams to capture feeling of fragmentation, loss, hope and humour in contemporary Palestinian experience.
Today they Took my Son
Farah Nabulsi, 2016, 8 mins
The story of a mother coping with her young son being taken away by a military system and her helplessness to prevent the cruel and inhumane treatment she knows he is experiencing.