ABOUT THE FILM:

The Poem We Sang is a color and black and white experimental documentary that meditates on love and longing, the love of one's family and the longing for one's home, contemplated through overcoming the trauma of loss of family home and of forced migration, transforming lifelong regrets into a healing journey of creative catharsis and bearing witness.

Years later when my grandmother finally did return to the family home with my uncle just after the 1967 Six-Day-War, her home was occupied by settlers. Visually richly layered with abstract visuals, family photos and archival footage of Palestine, the audio tracks are equally richly layered with my uncle's voice-recording, and childhood anecdotes of my time in Bethlehem with him. The Poem We Sang is at once deeply personal and fiercely nostalgic, a tribute to my uncle Elias and my family, and an ode to our lost family home in Palestine.

ABOUT THE FILMMAKER:

A Palestinian-Jordanian-Canadian, Annie Sakkab is an independent filmmaker and photojournalist. She seeks long-form narrative with a focus on women's issues, identity, and social justice. Her first short documentary ‘Hollie's Dress’ had its World Premiere at Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival 2020 and was created in collaboration with The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). Her second short experimental documentary, 'The Poem We Sang' examines Intergenerational trauma and post-memory in the context of Palestine.