Expired December 1, 2023 7:59 AM
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This film closely ties to the short films in the People of the Land program. We recommend watching them together.

While millions of migratory birds fly freely in the skies above, a Palestinian refugee, stranded in Lebanon, yearns for the ancestral homeland she is denied. She challenges Sarah, the director, to find an ancient mulberry tree that stands as witness to her family’s existence – with only inherited memories, a blind man and a two-headed dragon as her guides. Along the way, Sarah meets with ornithologists whose observations on the homing instincts of the birds reveal the unresolved problems of the region.


Spanning fifteen years, this story of a friendship that stays connected across a divided land and fragmented people, adopts a birds’ eye perspective to reflect on freedom of movement, exile and the hope of return.


Filmmaker bio: Sarah Beddington is a British artist and filmmaker currently based in London. Her research-based works in film and video, sculpture, performance and public art, explore the overlaps between the historical, the mythical and the everyday, often focusing on journeys and migration. She has completed many multi and single screen film and video works that have been shown in film festivals, museums, non-profit spaces and galleries around the world.

  • Year
    2021
  • Runtime
    82 minutes
  • Language
    Arabic, English
  • Country
    Palestine, State of, United Kingdom
  • Subtitle Language
    English
  • Director
    Sarah Beddington
  • Screenwriter
    Sarah Beddington
  • Producer
    Sarah Beddington, Susan Simnett