The Lemon Cinema Club - Palestinian Films

Palestinian cinema has been thriving for decades, and lucky for us, there is no shortage of places to watch these beautiful, informative, richly-told stories about Palestinian life, love, and loss. Over the past few years, I have been following the Palestine Museum US, which produces a weekly film screening, as well as the Palestine Film Institute, which hosts a season of film screenings in the summer as well as a catalog of the films they have showed. Since beginning to watch Palestinian cinema, I have seen over 100 films. Here, I can only present just some of them. These are some of the films that have remained with me long after they finished playing, and those that I feel that can be informative to those just beginning to know the Palestinian story.

Many of these movies can be quite difficult to watch, as they tell the stories of displacement, loss, cruelty, and injustice. Even films that may be a fictional story - they tell the truth of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian’s unique individual stories. As difficult as they may be to watch, bearing witness to their stories, learning about the history of Palestine, and hopefully sharing that message with others can sometimes be the best we can do. In the end, each film also portrays the values and struggles that connect us all as humans: the values of family, of friendship, of hard work and perseverance, of liberty, of agency, and of dreams of freedom. I hope you enjoy this introduction to Palestinian cinema.

Documentaries

Jenin, Jenin (2002), directed by Mohammed Bakri

In this documentary, Bakri visits the Jenin Refugee Camp after the Battle of Jenin, an eleven-day siege of the camp which caused widespread destruction to homes and infrastructure, and left dozens of Palestinians dead and wounded. Through his interviews with residents of the camp, they are able to share their experiences growing up in the camp, and the effect that living under the occupation has had on them.

Arna’s Children (2004), directed by Juliano Mer-Khamis

This documentary follows director Mer-Khamis and his mother, Arna, who ran the Freedom Theater in Jenin Refugee camp. Many of the children they once engaged with in their celebrated plays have grown up to be resistance fighters; several have been arrested or killed. The theater directors must reconcile that while they tried to create a safe space for joy and freedom and expression, ultimately under occupation, these children faced greater struggles, even the struggle to survive.

Erasmus in Gaza (2022), directed by Chiara Avesani and Matteo Delbò

This documentary follows an Italian medical student who has chosen to complete his study abroad in Gaza. We see him do the normal study abroad things: meet with his classmates and professors, explore new neighborhood places, but in the most abnormal situations. He encounters injuries that would be unheard of back home in Europe, treating patients maimed and wounded in the Great March of Return. When bombings break out, he and his camera crew must search for safety in a place where there are no shelters, no safe haven.

The People’s Patriarch (2021), directed by Mohammed Alatar

This film chronicles the reflections of Michel Sabbah, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem from 1988 to 2008. Sabbah was the first Arab-Palestinian to hold this position in the Catholic Church. He began his tenure at the outbreak of the First Intifada. These reflections shed light on the plight of all Palestinians, and importantly, also highlights the precarious state of Christians in Palestine.

Stitching Palestine (2017), directed by Carol Mansour

This documentary showcases the stories of several prominent Palestinian women, who each tell their stories of their homeland. Woven together through tatreez, traditional Palestinian embroidery, we see that each individual story makes up the tapestry of the Palestinian story.

Films by Rawan Damen

Rawan Damen is a documentary filmmaker. Her films are immensely educational and helpful in understanding the Palestinian context. Two examples are her four-part series, Al-Nakba: The Palestinian Catastrophe, and the two-part series, The Price of Oslo, both produced for Al Jazeera and available to watch on YouTube.

Drama

3000 Nights (2015), written and directed by Mai Masri

This movie is incredible, and also quite difficult to watch. It tells the story of a pregnant young schoolteacher who is arrested and wrongly imprisoned. She eventually gives birth to her son in prison and raises him there in his early days. A fictional film, it portrays the reality of the military justice system that Palestinians are subjected to, the harsh conditions in the prison, and the bonds between the prisoners that help them endure.

The Tower (2018), written and directed by Mads Grorud

This stop motion animated film tells the story of Wardi, a young Palestinian girl growing up in a Lebanese refugee camp, the descendant of Palestinians who were exiled in the 1948 Nakba. Generations of Wardi’s and other families are born and grow up in the camp. As these camps cannot expand beyond their territory, with each successive generation, the camp must be built up on top of itself, expanding into the sky. This moving film centers on family, and sheds an important light on the story of Palestinian refugees in camps across the region.

Short Films

The Present (2020), directed by Farah Nabulsi

This short film tells the story of a long day for a father and his daughter who would simply like to purchase an anniversary present for his wife. This menial task, which we would take for granted, is made difficult by the presence of checkpoints and soliders in the occupied West Bank. With towns cut off from one another, this simple errand becomes not only tedious, but dangerous and traumatizing. This short film offers a glimpse into the everyday reality of life in the West Bank, the denial of freedom of movement, and the difficulty, if not impossibility, of just trying to get from one place to another.

Short films by children and adults in Gaza, produced by Haneen Koraz

For many years and until today, Haneen Koraz has been working with Palestinians in Gaza to lead stop animation workshops and produce short films. You can find many examples of these films on Haneen’s Instagram page @animator_haneen, including films that have been produced during the current events. These films are incredibly moving - they show what families are experiencing as a result of displacement, famine, and bombings. These films are heartfelt and heart-wrenching, tender and endearing as they depict ordinary scenes of daily life in extraordinary circumstances.

Conclusion

I will have to stop myself here. The more I looked up the films, the more films I found to include. There are no shortage of excellent films in every genre. These films are thought-provoking and educational; I always learn something from them. Hopefully, they can help us empathize with Palestinians and their stories, and reach a wide audience, especially people whose only knowledge of Palestine may be misunderstood and biased headlines. I am thankful for all the Palestinian filmmakers who continue to tell their stories.

Note: Several of these and other Palestinian films are available on YouTube. Other places where I have been able to watch films are weekly screenings held by the Palestine Museum US, and seasonal weekly film offerings through the Palestinian Film Institute. You can find more information on their respective websites.