Palestinian Movies: “Farha,” “Omar,” and “200 Meters”
While reading is a great avenue to get educated and learn about the Palestinian cause, seeing is believing. It’s been over 100 days since Oct. 7, 2023, (109 to be exact), and there are many supporters of the Palestinian cause. Many have wanted to understand the Palestinian narrative more and learn more.
Watching films about the Palestinian cause can help put things into perspective way more than a documentary can. In this article, I have compiled a curated list of films for Pro-Palestinians to watch.
The movie “Farha” (2021), directed by Darin J Sallam and produced by Deema Azar and Ayah Jardaneh, is based on a true story set in 1948 at the start of the Nakba, the Palestinian catastrophe.
Farha is a 14-year-old village girl in Palestine who dreams of going to school in the city with her best friend. However, Farha’s dream is put on hold when her village is attacked and massacred by Zionist militias.
Farha has a chance to escape with her friend’s family, but at the last moment, she risks her life and wants to stay with her father. Her father decides to lock her in the cellar of their home so she isn’t found by the invaders and is protected. Since then, Farha never reunited with her father and was left alone in the world.
Many Palestinian sympathize with the story of Farha because, for the first time, they can actually envision the chaos and destruction of the Nakba unfolding on a screen in front of them. Every Nakba story is different, and this is just one out of millions of others, but I truly recommend everyone to watch this movie to get a grasp on the beginning of the plight of the Palestinians.
“Omar” (2013) directed by Hani Abu-Assad stars Adam Bakri, son of Palestinian actor and director Mohammad Bakri. “Omar” is set in the Occupied West Bank and follows Omar, a young and ambitious Palestinian man who simply wants to save money and marry his sweetheart, Nadia.
After an Israeli soldier is killed in a rogue shooting operation in Huwara, Omar is targeted, arrested, tortured, and turned into a spy for the occupation. Omar agrees to help the occupiers in exchange for his freedom; little do they know that he will deceive them and work against them.
The story of Omar is not the first of its kind. Although this is just one story, this movie gives an insider look into the bitter life of a Palestinian. Risking everything, having to choose between what is right and wrong while trying to lead a normal life.
“200 Meters,” directed by Ameen Nayfeh, shows a different aspect of the difficult life of a Palestinian. The main character, Mustafa, lives in Tulkarm, a city in the northern part of the Occupied West Bank, while his wife and children live 200 meters away from him on the other side of the Apartheid Wall in what is called Historic Palestine or 1948 Palestine.
Mustafa’s wife, Salwa, lives with ‘48 Palestine with her children and has to travel back and forth between checkpoints; from taking care of her husband’s house in the West Bank and her own across the wall, her life is very hard, especially when her husband can’t always be present.
When Mustafa and Salwa’s son, Majd, gets into an accident, he is rushed to a hospital in Jerusalem. Mustafa tries to enter through a checkpoint using his military travel permit and ID, but is turned away when the occupation soldier informs him the permit is expired. Mustafa takes a risk and pays a smuggler to take him through the checkpoint.
“200 Meters” is a film that I highly recommend everyone to watch to truly understand the life of a West Banker. Despite not being a “true story,” these stories have been manifested time and time again.
As a Palestinian, I’d say the movie I relate and connect with most is “200 Meters.” It’s apartheid at its finest. Different rules made for two people living on the same piece of land.
An Israeli settler living in the West Bank can easily travel through checkpoints and cross into ‘48 Palestine easily, no questions asked, but a Palestinian who’s family has lived there for generations has to ask for permission of movement in their own land. As a viewer, you can really see the racism, apartheid, and occupation manifested.
I would highly recommend all three of these movies. They encourage you to think deeply and critically about this occupation. You can see for yourself why it has to be dismantled and why Palestine has to be free.
Palestinians deserve the right of movement in their land, right to self-determination, and right of return.
Free Palestine.
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