ALAM

2022, dir. Firas Khoury
France, Tunisia, Palestine, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, 109min.
In Arabic with English subtitles

High-school rebel Tamer and his friends lead a typical teen life against the backdrop of the constant unease felt by Palestinians living on land occupied by Israel. When beautiful activist Maysaa’ joins his class, Tamer adopts an interest in politics. On the commemorative day for the al-Nakba, Maysaa’ and her fellow campaigners plan to replace the Israeli flag flying over the school with a Palestinian one, a symbolic act of resistance reminding everyone of the history they are expected to forget. As al-Nakba approaches, Tamer has to decide whether to join the struggle. In his first feature, Firas Khoury combines familiar elements of other coming-of-age movies with a more serious and subtle analysis of nationalism, propaganda, the symbolism of flags and, most importantly, what freedom really means.

WARNING: Viewer discretion advised.

Preceded by the following short films:

A TRIP TO THE MOTHERLAND

A short film in the style of a movie trailer visualizing how it feels to visit the motherland.

2022, dir. Ali Abushama
Canada, Palestine, 3min

WALLS CANNOT KEEP US FROM FLYING

Omar and Yasmeen, through their love of skateboarding, challenge the barriers set by both the occupation and their own society.

2021, dir. Jonathan Mehring
United States, Palestine, 13min.