Shorts 5

Cyber Palestine (1999)

Dir. Elia Suleiman / 1999 / Experimental / 16 mins

Cyber Palestine is a parable about a modern-day Mary and Joseph, two Palestinian returnees living in Gaza, and their tribulations with the Israeli occupation. The film was commissioned by the Palestinian National Authority’s Bethlehem 2000 Project as part of the millennium commemorations in Bethlehem.

Make a Wish (2005)

Cherien Dabis / 2005 / Drama / 13 mins

A young Palestinian girl will do whatever it takes to buy a birthday cake. Eleven year-old MARIAM begs her mother for the extra money she needs to buy a cake at the local bakery. Her mother begrudgingly relents, but when Mariam arrives at the bakery, she realizes that she still doesn't have enough. Determined to get the cake, she sets out to brave the obstacles and land some cash. What begins as a simple trip to the bakery turns into a journey that depicts not only the subtle tensions of a politically charged environment, but also illustrates the grief that can result from growing up under occupation.

A Boy, a Wall, and a Donkey (2008)

Hany Abu-Assad / 2008 / Experimental / 5 mins

Three young boys want to make a film in a village without cameras. They ride their donkey to the separation wall and are in luck as the place is flooded with surveillance cameras. When an army jeep approaches they wonder if they will finally get their hands on their footage.

Diary of a Male Whore (2001)

Tawfik Abu Wael / 2001 / Drama / 14 mins

Esam, a young Arab war refugee who lives in Tel Aviv, makes his living as a male prostitute. His physical pleasure, which makes him forget his hunger, reminds him constantly of his childhood in his home village. Inspired by the novel For Bread Alone by Mohammad Shukry.

May in the Summer (2013)

Documentary, 1h 39m

May returns to her childhood home in Jordan for her wedding. Shortly after reuniting with her sisters and their long-since divorced parents, myriad familial and cultural conflicts lead May to question the big step she is about to take.

Writer & Director: Cherien Dabis

Cinematography: Brian Rigney Hubbard

Editor: Sabine Hoffman

Music: Kareem Roustom

Starring: Cherian Dabis

Bill Pullman

Alia Shawkat

Hiam Abbass

Amreeka (2009)

Drama, 1h 36m

When a Palestinian single mom and her teenage son immigrate to small-town Illinois during the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, they face racism, discrimination and unemployment in their adopted homeland.

Winner of the FIPRESCI Critics Prize at Cannes in 2009 and voted one of the top ten independent films of the year by the National Board of Review.

Writer & Director: Cherien Dabis

Starring: Nisreen Faour, Melkar Muallem, Hiam Abbass and Alia Shawkat

“Amreeka isn’t a story of American prejudice, but of American reality, the good and the bad.”

— Roger Ebert