Palestine, Arabic, English - 90 min
Feature Documentary
TOTAL BUDGET
US $80,000
CONFIRMED FINANCING
US $30,000
CONFIRMED FINANCIAL PARTNER
-AFAC
CONTACT
hindeshoufani@gmail.com
Info@philistinefilms.com
+971501033860
A poetic metaphorical exploration of the ancient beauty and rituals of minority Christian Arabs in Galilee. Hind Shoufani, a Palestinian in diaspora finally returns ‘home’ after decades marked by grief, to listen and learn.
From dancers to goat herders, journalists, priests, carpenters and tobacco farmers, They Planted Strange Trees converses with communities in mystical Galilee. Who are these Palestinians who kept the land and the faith under a new citizenship?
The film celebrates the sensations of Arab Christians from villages like Miilya, Fasouta and Tarsheeha, the destroyed remnants of Iqrith/Biriim, and the cities of Haifa and Nazareth, weaving these stories into the emotions of the returning daughter, Hind– now orphaned and unsure of who she is in this unknown landscape.
Blending sensitive family moments with scripture, poetry, delicate life scenes in the land, and improvised interviews, the film speaks of the contradictory existence and mythology of these insular communities.
Hind’s quest challenges the idea of "home" and hunts for solace to heal her mourning in mountains and coastlines, as she debates difficult questions on faith, muddled minority ethnography and allegiance under an ongoing occupation.
The ensemble invites us into their intimate gatherings, speaking from their heart as we travel from weddings to mountain views, from churches to coffeeshops in abandoned Arab quarters, from ruins and temples to happy living rooms, and from lush fields to loving kitchens as Hind embraces her ancestry, and is in turn, saved by it.
What would have happened to her had she been born in these wonderful lands of her exiled parents? Why were these people of her homeland so beautiful? So strong? So alone?
I'm a Palestinian writer and filmmaker, born in Lebanon as a refugee from the Galilee, and grew up in Amman and Damascus. Like many exiled Palestinians in the diaspora, I moved around the world from Dubai to New York, and despite never knowing my Palestinian parents' homeland, always keeping the Galilee at the core of my identity.
My extended family had stayed in their homes, kept the land, the love. My parents were extremely secular, as am I, so my attraction to these communities is anthropological, personal, curious, investigative rather than religious.
Our village, Miilya (A Melkite Catholic Arab village of 3000 people in Western Galilee) was always a distant myth, though it was an hour-long drive from where I was born in Sidon, south Lebanon. The last time I visited it was in 1997, with my dying mother. After her death, I never went back. I am now re-discovering my ancestral home after obtaining my mother’s citizenship, after 4 decades of being stateless. My large family and their community in other towns, revere my exiled deceased father, & they've granted me kind, intricate & unrestricted access to their homes, spirits, fears & everyday moments.
The stories are full of love & ancient Mediterranean magic. I, the returning storyteller, will develop new memories, questioning where I fit in this tapestry. Why did my accent in Arabic change to their mountain dialect the first week I visited? Why do I dream so comfortably in the village? Laugh so loudly?
The day Hind spoke to me about They Planted Strange Trees, I realised how much it reflected our own life: our history, our family and friends, the communities we come from, and the places we call 'home'. The Palestinians living within the 1948 area, those who survived and stayed in Palestine until today, despite the brutality of forced displacement, are now living an identity crisis that is dividing society apart, fed by the Israeli policy to identify and categorise people according to their religions, while constantly trying to impose a nationality they created from a religion on the natives of Palestine.
Palestine, like many ancient lands in the region, is known for its rich pluralistic society, embracing diverse ethnicities, religions and people who all count as Palestinians, and so it has been for decades. The Christians Palestinian old cities and villages are constantly facing challenges; a life overwhelmed with contradictions, contrasts and confusion.
Will they surrender and melt into the new identity, or will they stand solid as Christian Palestinians opposed to occupation surrounded by their Muslim heritage and culture? While they struggle to search for their sense of belonging, trying to digest the struggle and embrace their true identities, we at Philistine Films believe that it is fascinating to explore and contemplate this dilemma.
Working with Hind on this project is already a rewarding experience, for her determination and cinematic honesty make it a unique journey. We look forward to sharing the film with global audiences who care to explore what lies beneath the isolation of those holding on to their homes and lands in the areas of 1948.
Ossama Bawardi - Philistine Films
2022: They Planted Strange Trees by Hind Shoufani
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