Soraya, born in Brooklyn in a working class community of Palestinian refugees, discovers that her grandfather’s savings were frozen in a bank account in Jaffa when he was exiled in 1948. Stubborn, passionate and determined to reclaim what is hers, she fulfills her life-long dream of “returning” to Palestine. Slowly she is taken apart by the reality around her and is forced to confront her own internal anger. She meets Emad, a young Palestinian whose ambition, contrary to hers, is to leave forever. Tired of the constraints that dictate their lives, they know in order to be free, they must take things into their own hands, even if it’s illegal.

About the filmmaker:

Annemarie Jacir has written, directed and produced over sixteen films in total. Two of her films have premiered as Official Selections in Cannes, one in Berlin and in Venice, Locarno, Rotterdam, Toronto and Telluride. All three of her feature films were selected as Palestine’s Oscar Entry for Foreign Language Film. She has served as a jury member to numerous festivals including in Cannes (2018), Berlinale (2020) and Sundance (2023) and is a member of the Directors Guild of America, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), and the Asia Pacific Screen Academy. 

Learn more about Annemarie's prolific career on our blog.