In 2023, Filmlab Palestine had no choice but to postpone their Palestine Cinema Days due to the outbreak of Israel’s war on Gaza. Instead of cancelling the event altogether, they brought Palestine to the world through simultaneous screenings hosted by cinemas across the globe.
For the second year in a row, on 2 November 2024, the solemn anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, the Palestine Cinema Days Around the World initiative organised 320 screenings of eight films in 44 countries and over 150 cities — from New York City to Nairobi to Tokyo.
Following an earlier publication featuring a selection of noteworthy Palestinian fiction films, and inspired by the Palestine Cinema Days Around the World event, The New Arab takes a closer look at the selections from this year’s and last year’s events, highlighting ten documentaries that avid film lovers should keep on their radar, to learn more about Palestinian history and its ongoing struggles.Â
Resistance, Why? (1971)
Director: Christian Ghazi
In 1970, Soraya Antonius of the Fifth of June Society, an independent non-governmental organisation dedicated to promoting a better understanding of the Middle East, facilitated a meeting between Christian Ghazi, Noureddine Chatti, and various Arab political figures, including Palestinians in Lebanon.
The resulting documentary features prominent voices such as Ghassan Kanafani, Sadiq Jalal El-Azm, and Nabil Shaath, who share their insights on the Palestinian revolution, tracing its history back to the early 20th century.
They recount strikes and protests during Ottoman rule, British colonisation, and the establishment of Israel in 1948, highlighting the goals of their struggle for a free and democratic Palestine, supported by both armed and non-armed efforts from all citizens.
Maloul Celebrates its Destruction (1985)
Director: Michel Khleifi
Ma’loul, a Palestinian village in Galilee, was destroyed by Israeli forces in 1948, leaving only two churches and a mosque as remnants.
Over time, these remnants were obscured by a forest planted in memory of Nazi victims, erasing many Arab villages from the map. The displaced residents are only allowed to return once a year, on the anniversary of the Nakba.
The film captures this poignant gathering, highlighting moments of remembrance as villagers come across traces of their past, interwoven with the current historical narrative taught in schools, adding depth to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Infiltrators (2012)
Director: Khaled Jarrar
Infiltrators, directed by Khaled Jarrar, is a visceral “road movie” that captures the daily struggles of Palestinians navigating the barriers that restrict their movement in the West Bank. When a checkpoint closes, taxi drivers announce the start of yet another uncertain detour.
Filming with a handheld camera, Jarrar documents this high-stakes game of cat and mouse, as individuals from different backgrounds search for ways through, under, and around the obstacles.
The film received critical acclaim, winning the Muhr Arab Documentary Prize, the Special Jury Prize, and the International Critics Prize at the 2012 Dubai International Film Festival.
The Wanted 18 (2014)
Directors: Amer Shomali & Paul Cowan
This animated documentary tells the story of Palestinians in Beit Sahour who, during the First Intifada, attempted to establish a local dairy industry by hiding 18 cows from Israeli security forces.
The film combines documentary interviews, archival footage, drawings, and black-and-white stop-motion animation, with a unique narrative told from the perspective of the cows — Rikva, Ruth, Lola, and Goldie — who appear in humorous Claymation sequences.
The directors aimed for a comic book aesthetic, believing that laughter can serve as a form of non-violent resistance, helping the audience connect with the cows’ plight.
Aida Returns (2016)
Director: Carol Mansour
This poignant and bittersweet film follows director Carol Mansour’s journey of loss and hope. It explores her mother Aida’s battle with Alzheimer’s, where memories of her youth in Yafa provided comfort as the disease took hold.
After Aida’s passing, Mansour’s friend Tanya suggests taking Aida’s ashes back to Yafa. The film documents Mansour’s quest, supported by friends and strangers, to fulfil this wish for eternal peace.
This personal, yet universal story resonates with families affected by Alzheimer’s and Palestinian refugees yearning to return to their roots, symbolising collective memory and the ache of exile.
Stitching Palestine (2017)
Director: Carol Mansour
In this film, Carol Mansour again addresses the theme of memory, but on a broader scale, through the stories of twelve Palestinian women recounting their lives before displacement. They share personal recollections, experiences, and the essence of their identities, weaving these memories through the art of traditional embroidery.
Each woman, strong and eloquent, represents a different background, but together they weave the collective narrative of their homeland, the pain of exile, and their hope for justice. The film intertwines these individual stories with the symbolic thread of embroidery, illustrating resilience and the unbreakable bond to their roots and heritage.
Ghost Hunting (2017)
Director: Raed Andoni
This documentary follows Raed Andoni as he confronts the haunting image of his younger self, a prisoner in the Al-Moscobiya interrogation center. To exorcise these fragmented, half-real memories, he reconstructs the prison in a warehouse near Ramallah.
Former prisoners, responding to a casting call, join him as construction workers and collaborators, contributing their own stories. Through reenactments and roleplaying, they relive their traumatic pasts.
The documentary focuses particularly on Mohammad, whose resistance and humour during interrogation made him a symbol of defiance. It is an innovative documentary that blends reality and performance to explore shared trauma and resilience.
Naila and the Uprising (2017)
Director: Julia Bacha
The film tells the story of Naila Ayesh, a young woman in Gaza during the First Intifada of the late 1980s, who must choose between love, family, and freedom. She embraces all three, joining a secret network of women at the forefront of a powerful, non-violent movement for Palestinian self-determination.
The film blends animation, intimate interviews, and archival footage to highlight the courageous women often overlooked in historical accounts.
Showcasing women’s committees that mobilised mass rallies, underground schools, and boycotts, the film also highlights the transformative power of female-led, nonviolent resistance in driving structural change and sustaining a movement.
Little Palestine, Diary of a Siege (2021)
Director: Abdallah Al Khatib
This film chronicles life in Yarmouk, Damascus, once the largest Palestinian refugee camp. After the Syrian revolution broke out, Bashar Al-Assad’s regime besieged Yarmouk in 2013, cutting it off from the world and depriving residents of food, medicine, and electricity.
Director Abdallah Al-Khatib, who was born in Yarmouk and expelled by Daesh in 2015, captured the resilience of the camp’s residents from 2011 to 2015, as they faced bombings, displacement, and starvation with determination, study, music, and joy.
The film portrays how lives, including Al-Khatib’s mother, who became a nurse, were deeply transformed by the relentless war and siege.
Eleven Days in May (2022)
Directors: Michael Winterbottom & Mohammad Sawwaf
Over 11 days in May 2021, 67 children were killed in Gaza. Narrated by Kate Winslet and with music by Max Richter, the film honours their memory through archival footage and personal testimonies, telling each child’s story as an individual with dreams and ambitions, like children everywhere.
Director Mohammad Sawwaf shared that the families’ sorrow was more profound than the war itself, while his co-director Michael Winterbottom emphasised that the film is an act of remembrance, aiming to give these children and their grieving families a voice. It serves as a reminder that war is never the solution but always the problem.
Mariana Hristova is a freelance film critic, cultural journalist, and programmer. She contributes to national and international outlets and has curated programs for Filmoteca De Catalunya, Arxiu Xcèntric, goEast Wiesbaden, etc. Her professional interests include cinema from the European peripheries and archival and amateur films
