Twin Cities Arab Film Festival 2024

From The Cinema Issue - shorts segment

Available in 07d 04h 12m 02s
Available September 28, 2024 5:00 AM UTC
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In this resonant work, Palestinian-born video and performance artist Mona Hatoum tries to overcome the effects of distance, and reflects on geography represented in exile due to war, and on the psychological distance represented in each one’s approach to her womanhood. The video beautifully weaves personal images and audio recordings of a very intimate nature, binding the personal with the political. Reading aloud from letters sent by her mother in Beirut, Hatoum creates a visual montage reflecting her feelings of separation and isolation from her Palestinian family. The personal and political are inextricably bound in a narrative that explores personal and family identity against a backdrop of traumatic social rupture, exile and displacement.


  • Year
    1988
  • Runtime
    15 minutes
  • Language
    English, Arabic
  • Country
    Lebanon, Palestine
  • Director
    Mona Hatoum