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Co-presented by the Middle East Children's Alliance & the Arab American National Museum






At the Arab Film and Media Institute, we seek to continually change the narrative, share our stories, and foster understanding of our

At the Arab Film and Media Institute, we seek to continually change the narrative, share our stories, and foster understanding of our common humanity through art and storytelling. At the end of last year, in response to beginning of the ongoing genocide in Gaza, we started a program called Palestinian Voices to do just this. Throughout this dire time, we feel that is it more important than ever to share the history, culture, and stories of Palestine.


In contrast to Western media coverage that often dominates the narrative, this program highlights the stories of Palestinians as they want to tell them. Each film offer us glimpses into the daily lives of the Palestinian people–their struggles under occupation, but also their hopes, dreams, and insistent reclamation of life, despite it all. We are honored to share these shorts that explore childhood imagination, the efforts to return, and the solidarity that can be found in surprising places.

Maha, 12, is part of the last generation of Palestinian refugees from the Balata camp. Following a faintness from her blind grandfather, she imagines a crazy project: to make him believe that the wall of separation has fallen and that a return to his native land is possible. With the help of her friends from the camp, the young girl imagines a funny trip for him...


About the filmmakers:

After a master's degree in cinema at the Sorbonne and a TV series course at La Fémis, Nour Ben Salem worked as a scriptwriter for television and cinema. She co-wrote the feature film Hard shell, soft shell directed by Emma Benestan (2021), as well as several episodes of the series Reign Supreme for Arte/Netflix. Palestine Islands is her first work as a director.







After studying cinema in Montreal and at the Sorbonne, Julien Menanteau directed his first short film Rikishi, followed by Samaritan, a creative documentary shot during two years in Palestine. Broadcasted on Arte, the film won a star from the SCAM. Lads, his first fiction feature, has just obtained an advance on receipts from the CNC.

  • Year
    2023
  • Runtime
    22 minutes
  • Language
    Arabic
  • Country
    Palestine, Jordan
  • Premiere
    San Francisco Premiere
  • Genre
    Drama
  • Subtitle Language
    English
  • Director
    Nour Ben Salem, Julien Menanteau
  • Screenwriter
    Nour Ben Salem, Julien Menanteau
  • Producer
    Bastien Daret, Arthur Goisset, Robin Robles
  • Executive Producer
    Rashid Abdelhammid
  • Cast
    Sama Idreesi, Kamel El Basha, Leen Saleh, Toleen Al Risheq, Mohammad Idreesi , Rakan Al Nather, Hind Hamed, Odai Hijazi, Nael Abu Ayyash, Islam Al Awad
  • Cinematographer
    Éric Devin
  • Editor
    Manon Falise
  • Sound Design
    Valère Raigneau
  • Music
    Jack Bartman