TIFF Lightbox 350 King St W, Toronto, Cinema 2
English
A young man from a refugee camp embarks on a perilous journey in order to fulfill his little brother’s wish: To throw his milk tooth into the sea.
Featured Cast
Wisam Al-Jafari, Raeda Ghazaleh, Yasmin Shalaldeh, Jacir Abedrabou
Canadian premiere
Awards
Cannes Film Festival, France (World Premiere)
TIFF Lightbox 350 King St W, Toronto, Cinema 2
82 minutes
Lina Soualem
Documentary
2023
France, Belgium, Qatar, Palestine
French, Arabic, English
Leaving her village to follow her dream of becoming an actress, Hiam Abbass also left behind her mother, grandmother and seven sisters. Thirty years later, her filmmaker daughter Lina returns with her to journey through the vanished places among the scattered memories of four generations of daring Palestinian women.
Featured Cast
Hiam Abbass, Um Ali, Nemat Abbass
Awards
Venice Film Festival – Giornate degli Autori 2023, 2023 Toronto Film Festival (North American Premiere) 2023 BFI London Film Festival (UK Premiere)
TIFF Lightbox 350 King St W, Toronto, Cinema 2
16 minutes
Rehab Nazzal
Documentary
2023
Canada, Palestine
English
"Vibrations from Gaza" is a short documentary that offers a glimpse into the resilience of Palestinian Deaf children in Gaza, who are enduring Israel’s siege and frequent military onslaught.
Toronto Premiere
Awards
San Sebastián Human Rights Film Festival, Spain, 2024, Saguenay International Short Film Festival, 2024, Numéro Zéro Film Festival, France, 2024
Lightbox 350 King St W, Toronto, Cinema 2
93 minutes
Mohamed Jabaly
Documentary
2023
Norway, Palestine
English
The young Palestinian director Mohamed Jabaly is visiting a film festival in Tromsø in 2014, when the borders to Gaza close. He finds himself stuck in the arctic winter. Little does he know that it will be seven years before he can see his family again.While waiting for the situation to change, Mohamed’s friends back home tell him to seek asylum or get married to stay in Norway. But Mohamed refuses to give up his Palestinian identity and insists on being recognized for his work. After being denied a work permit after several appeals, despite his film Ambulance gaining international success, he decides to take his case to court backed by a growing group of supporters. As this unfolds, Mohamed lives a parallel life online, staying connected with family in Gaza. They provide solace, but when Gaza is attacked again, Mohamed experiences the pain of being separated from his loved ones and is faced with an impossible choice: if he goes back to Gaza, he may never be able to leave again and continue his work as an acclaimed film director, sharing his stories with the world.Life is Beautiful is a story of overcoming a life put on hold by international politics and rigid bureaucracy, told from the inside by a director who uses all his creativity to connect with the world and forge a way forward.
Awards
Gilda Vieira de Mello Prize in Creative Documentary, FIFDH Genève 2024 The National Lottery Audience Award, Docville 2024 Best film, international competition, One World International Human Rights Film Festival, Prague, 2024
Co-Presented by:
TIFF Lightbox 350 King St W, Toronto, Cinema 2
53 minutes
Abdel Salam Shehada
Documentary
2008
Palestine, Gaza
To My Father is Abdel Salam Shehadah's poetic and mesmerizing homage to the studio photographers of the 1950's - 70's. Set partly in a refugee camp in Rafah, this is a remarkable look back at fifty years of Palestinian and Arab history, through photographs, reportage and the voices of photographers. A photo here is not just a photo: it brings history to life.
The film, which premiered at the second TPFF in 2009, is a deeply personal and moving film that spotlights the talent of Gaza-born director Shahadah, who has worked all over the world as a director, cameraman and journalist, and filmmaker. Shehada has been directing and producing films and programming for over 30 years - including more than 20 documentary films, which have been nominated and won awards. Shehada also worked for NHK Japan TV.
Following the screening, TPFF is honoured to host an in-person conversation with Director Shahadah, recently exiled from Gaza, about his reflections as a filmmaker from Gaza.
Director Statement by Abdal Salam Shehada
(English translation, Arabic follows)
Welcome to this special screening of our documentary film, which reflects a moving and profound journey from childhood memories through the era of war to hope for a brighter tomorrow. We are here today to witness a story that is not only told through words but experienced and felt in every detail.
In this film, we dive into the depths of childhood memories that paint us pure and clear images of innocence and hope. We explore how those beautiful moments were shaped amidst challenging circumstances and how childhood can be a refuge and inspiration in times of adversity.
We also face together the scenes of war that have altered many lives, moments interspersed with crises and difficulties. Through these narratives, we seek to see through the eyes that have witnessed the ravages of conflict and draw strength and inspiration from their resilience and hope.
However, we cannot speak of the past without keeping in mind the hope for a brighter tomorrow. This film is not just a recounting of memories and experiences; it is a powerful message about the possibility of overcoming challenges and holding on to hope. Each story told here opens a window to the potential of rebuilding and living in a better world.
We hope that you find in this film a reflection of what it means to be human in times of challenge and that hope continues to be a guiding light in our hearts, no matter the circumstances.
Thank you all for your presence and ongoing support. We hope that our film leaves a mark on your hearts, just as your stories have left a mark on this work.
With sincere appreciation,
Abdal Salam Shehada
خطاب افتتاحي
أعزائي الحضور،
أهلاً وسهلاً بكم في هذا العرض الخاص لفيلمنا الوثائقي الذي يعكس رحلة مؤثرة وعميقة من ذكريات الطفولة إلى زمن الحرب والأمل في غد مشرق. نحن هنا اليوم لنشهد قصة لا تُروى بالكلمات فقط، بل تُعاش وتُشعر بكل تفاصيلها.
في هذا الفيلم، نغوص في أعماق الذكريات الطفولية التي ترسم لنا صورًا صافية ونقية من البراءة والأمل. نكتشف كيف تشكلت تلك اللحظات الجميلة في ظل الظروف الصعبة، وكيف أن الطفولة يمكن أن تكون ملاذًا وملهمة في أوقات الشدة.
كما نواجه معًا مشاهد الحرب التي غيرت حياة الكثيرين، تلك اللحظات التي تخللتها أزمات وصعوبات. من خلال هذه الروايات، نحاول أن نرى من خلال العيون التي شهدت ويلات الصراع، ونستمد من قوتهم وأملهم إلهامًا ودرسًا عن الصمود والتحدي.
ومع ذلك، لا يمكننا الحديث عن الماضي دون أن نضع نصب أعيننا الأمل في غد مشرق. هذا الفيلم ليس مجرد سرد للذكريات والتجارب، بل هو رسالة قوية عن إمكانية التغلب على الصعاب والتمسك بالأمل. إن كل قصة تُروى هنا تفتح أمامنا نافذة على إمكانية إعادة البناء والعيش في عالم أفضل.
نأمل أن تجدوا في هذا الفيلم انعكاسًا لما يعنيه أن تكون إنسانًا في أوقات التحدي، وألا يتوقف الأمل عن كونه شعلة مضيئة في قلوبنا، مهما كانت الظروف.
شكرًا لكم جميعًا على حضوركم ودعمكم المتواصل. نتمنى أن يترك فيلمنا بصمة في قلوبكم، كما تركت قصصكم بصمة في هذا العمل.
مع خالص التقدير، ,
Co-Presented by:
Health Workers Alliance for Palestine
TIFF Lightbox 350 King St W, Toronto, Cinema 2
14 minutes
Hayat Laban
Documentary
2023
Palestine
English
The documentary talks about the memory of photojournalist “Mahfouz Abu Turk” and the archive through which he documented the events he experienced in the city of Jerusalem and the West Bank from the first intifada in 1987 and the events that followed until the end of the nineties.
Canadian Premiere
TIFF Lightbox 350 King St W, Toronto, Cinema 2
88 minutes
Mohanad Yaqubi
Experimental Documentary
2022
Palestine, Belgium, Qatar
Documenting an overlooked movement of anti-imperialism between Japan and Palestine, the Tokyo Reels are collection of 20 16mm films. They were safeguarded in Tokyo by the Japanese solidarity movement with Palestine between the 1960s and 1980s. Into this stunning archive comes a reflection on the movement, known as Reel 21 – an undelivered solidarity letter written by a Japanese activist that was lost on its way to a Palestinian filmmaker. Fragments of the letter are found throughout the collection and compiled into an imagined structure that reveals itself during this powerful, meditative film.
Toronto Premiere
Learn More: R21 aka Restoring Solidarity
Co-Presented by:
110 minutes
22 Directors from Gaza
Short film compilation
2024
Palestine, France, Jordan, Qatar
Arabic with English Subtitles
Launched by Palestinian filmmaker Rashid Masharawi, “From Ground Zero”, initiative set out to give artists and filmmakers in Gaza the opportunity to articulate their daily life under genocide through short films (fictional/ documentary/ experimental). Working closely with Gazan filmmakers, Arab and international filmmakers facilitated the development of ideas and provided artistic guidance to the filmmakers from Gaza that resulted in a compilation of 22 short films. Together, the powerful and creative short films, each 3-5 minutes long, create a work of memory to fight against oblivion and leave a trace of the ongoing war against the people of Gaza.
Canadian Premiere
Co-Presented by:
TIFF Lightbox 350 King St W, Toronto, Cinema 2
14 minutes
Firas Shehade
Short Experimental
2023
Austria
English
In RPGs (role-playing game), one could say that real life can be rehearsed in a superstitious manner, with supernatural beings and worlds. Since the emergence of computer processing power and video games, the third world was a source for worldbuilding and space to apply game operations. Those games are not isolated from the socio-cultural and political environment that they are developed in. On the other hand, third-world gamers, developers, streamers, and hackers managed to modify those games and apply their own hyperreality in order to rehearse their world. This project explores how Palestinian players, GTA mods, and servers are simulating real life under colonial rule. Like An Event In A Dream Dreamt By Another - Rehearsal examines Los Santos as a corollary to Palestine.
Learn More: Like An Event In A Dream Dreamt By Another - Rehearsal
Lightbox 350 King St W, Toronto, Cinema 2
78 minutes
Kamal Aljafari
Experimental
2024
Palestine, Germany, Qatar, Brazil, France
SCREENING WITH: Like An Event In A Dream Dreamt By Another - Rehearsal
English
Reel B75-92 shows scenes of orange-picking in Qalandia in 1957, which, according to the Hebrew description, are images of “terrorists”… They come from a collection of films and photos that were kept at the Palestine Research Centre in Beirut, until it was looted by the Israeli army during the invasion of Southern Lebanon in 1982, and transferred to the archives of the Hebrew state's army and Ministry of Defense. It was only in the 2010s that academic circles - in Tel Aviv, in particular - began to question the aims of this systematic plundering of the entire Palestinian visual memory, which became war booty in part renamed for ideological reasons: the occupying power de facto ensuring control of the captured material. In A Fidai Film, Kamal Aljafari(An Unusual Summer, VdR 2020) turns this primordial plundering against those who perpetrated it. By revitalizing these lost images through his vibrant editing process, he unleashes the subversive power of a counter-narrative that has been erased over the decades, portraying life in Palestine before and after 1948 - particularly during the British mandate of the 1920s-1930s, when the tangible signs of future spoliation, humiliation and violence were already apparent. The Palestinian filmmaker thus meditates with a unique space-time depth of field on the fate of images produced by a people doubly dispossessed, both of its land, and of its history.
Awards
Jury Prize in the Burning Lights Competition Visions du Réel
GNCR/CINÉ+ Distribution Support Prize / Renaud Victor Prize FID Marseille
Premio del Sindacato Nazionale Critici Cinematografici Italiani (SNCCI) / Menzione d’onore Giuria Giovani Pesaro Film Festival
Co-Presented by:
TIFF Lightbox 350 King St W, Toronto, Cinema 2
English
Haunted by her mother’s death and recurring attacks by Israeli forces on her city, a young girl becomes obsessed with death. To distract her, her father makes a stop-motion film. However, his attempts fail and the girl finds nothing other than imagination to escape from reality.
Featured Cast
Ziad Bakri and Lana Abu Srour
Canadian Premiere
Awards
Best Short Fiction Award, Ismailia International Film Festival for Documentaries and Shorts
TIFF Lightbox 350 King St W, Toronto, Cinema 2
90 minutes
Matt Peterson and Malek Rasamny
Documentary
2019
United States
English
Profiling the American Indian reservation alongside the Palestinian refugee camp, Spaces of Exception was filmed from 2014 to 2017 in Arizona, New Mexico, New York and South Dakota as well as Lebanon and the West Bank. It is an attempt to understand the significance of the land—its memory and divisions—and the conditions for life, community and sovereignty.
Toronto Premiere
Learn More: Spaces of Exception
Co-Presented by:
TIFF Lightbox 350 King St W, Toronto, Cinema 2
10 minutes
Hadi Moussally
Documentary
2023
France, Jordan, Lebanon
English
Sultana of New York is a Palestinian drag queen, performer, and artist. "Sultana’s Reign" opens with a conversation with Sultana, as she is being painted by Jordanian artist, RIDIKKULUZ. Reflecting on her journey from Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, to then New York, Sultana tells of the challenges of performing drag in conservative societies, her nostalgia for the glory days and the glamour of Egyptian cinema icons, and her struggle to prove her existence and her self-expression as a performer and artist. She also shares her love of celebration and her everlasting commitment to be true to herself.
YouTube
Awards
Queer Porto - International Queer Film Festival 2024, GAZE International LGBTQIA Film Festival 2024, FIRE!!, Barcelona LBGT Film Festival 2024
Co-presented by:
TIFF Bell Lightbox 350 King St W, Toronto, Cinema 2
English, translated Hebrew & Arabic
Letter to My Tribe started with a question: Why don’t more Jews and Israelis speak out about Palestine? Over many years my mother, who represents a more messianic perspective, and I have had numerous arguments, some recorded, some not. These form the backbone of this video essay in which Israelis and Jews, journalists, activists and a rabbi are interviewed, and in which documentation of actions on the ground, in the West Bank, are woven with more personal family histories and journeys to Iraq and to Poland.
World Premiere
Post-Screening Discussion: Reflections on Solidarity
After the screening the film’s director Yael, will joined by Mohammad Yassin (Occupy U of T) for a short discussion on solidarity with Palestinians - and will reflect on their own work as activists and they have worked to build solidary and lessons learned from their activism.
bh Yael is a Toronto based filmmaker, video and installation artist. She is Professor of Integrated Media at OCAD University, past Chair of Senate and past Assistant Dean. Yael’s films and installations have dealt with the many intersections of identity and family; it has focused on activist initiatives in Palestine/Israel, as well as apocalypse, geopolitical and environmental urgencies.
Mohammad Yassin is a Palestinian organizer with family in Gaza and a recent graduate from the University of Toronto. As a student, he worked to push UofT to divest from and cut ties with institutions that propagate the genocidal Israeli regime. During OccupyUofT's encampment at the People's Circle for Palestine, he took on the role of media spokesperson and was a member of the negotiation team that met with the university's administration.
Learn More: Letter to My Tribe
Copresented by:
Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre
Independent Jewish Voice Toronto
OCADU Arts and Social Change
Lightbox 350 King St W, Toronto, Cinema 2
22 minutes
Nour Ben Salem and Julien Menanteau
Short fiction
2023
Palestine, France
Arabic with English Subtitles
Maha, 12, is part of the last generation of Palestinian refugees from the Balata camp. Following a fainting by her blind grandfather, she imagines a crazy project: to make him believe that the wall of separation has fallen and that a return to his native land is possible. With the help of her friends from the camp, the young girl imagines a fun trip for him...
Featured Cast
Sama Idreesi, Kamel El Basha, Leen Saleh, Toleen Al Risheq, Mohammad Idreesi
Canadian Debut
Awards
Unifrance Short Film Award
Lightbox 350 King St W, Toronto, Cinema 2
79 minutes
Rami Younis and Sarah Ema Friedland
Sci-Fi Documentary
2023
Palestine, United Kingdom, United States
The film Lyd (the Arabic name of Lod, a city now in Israel) is about a 5,000-year-old bustling Palestinian town that was conquered when the State of Israel was established in 1948, and the film Lyd is the story of that city’s rise and fall. An exploration of what it once was, and what it is now, in the context of the continuing conflicts and the war in Gaza, Lyd’s excavation of one community’s complex history offers us not only lessons but possible futures. As the film unfolds, a chorus of characters creates a tapestry of the Palestinian experience of this city and the trauma left by the massacre and expulsion, while vivid animations envision an alternate reality where the same characters live free from the trauma of the past and the violence of the present. Using never-before-seen archival footage of the Israeli soldiers who carried out the massacre and expulsion, the personified city explains that these events were so devastating that they fractured reality, and now there are two Lyds — one occupied and one free. As the film cuts between fantastical and documentary realities, it ultimately leaves the viewer questioning what future should prevail.
Awards
Jury Award for Arab Feature-Length Documentary and FIPRESCI Award from the Film Critics Association, Amman International Film Festival 2023; Melbourne Science Fiction Film Festival 2024
Co-Presented by
Lightbox 350 King St W, Toronto, Cinema 2
18 minutes
Rimah Jabr
Short Fiction
2023
Canada
English
In present-day Nablus, amidst the confines of a home masking an ant nest within its walls, Aya, a
depressed young woman, is faced with a life-changing scholarship offer to study abroad and caught
between the enticement of her dreams and the weight of potentially abandoning her lonely mother. As the discussions about the persistent acts unfold, long-suppressed emotions start to surface. Through the lens of these seemingly insignificant creatures, Aya and Lamia find a channel to express their true feelings, ultimately leading to a deeper understanding of each other’s struggles and desires. “De-Clutter is a poignant exploration of the complexities of familial love, sacrifice, and the unspoken burdens we carry.
Rimah Jabr is a theatre director, playwright, screenwriter, and Ph.D. candidate in Theatre and Performance Studies at York University. She holds a master’s degree in theatre-making from RITCS in Brussels. Rimah has written and directed several plays produced in Belgium, Canada, and Palestine. She frequently collaborates with visual artists to create performances and has co-written feature films and shorts. Her short film De-Clutter (2023), developed with the support of Cinephilia Productions and produced during a residency at the Toronto Palestine Film Festival (TPFF), marks her debut as a filmmaker. The film has won three awards and has been selected for various short film festivals.
Featured Cast
Amani Ibrahim & Roula Said
Canadian Premiere
Awards
Cambridge Short Film Festival 2024 (Selected) (Online festival) Edinburgh Film Awards 2024 (Winner) Brussels World Film Festival 2024 (Winner) Independent Shorts Awards February 2024 (Winner)
Co-presented by:
Lightbox 350 King St W, Toronto, Cinema 2
Arabic with English Subtitles
When news breaks out that wedding dresses are banned from entering Palestine, Kareem's world is shaken up. His spunky niece, Hind, convinces him to go on a mission to disguise and smuggle the wedding dresses as conspicuous packing wrapping for shishas (hookah) into Palestine.
Their plan takes a poignant turn when a news update reveals that the trade embargo was the start of another war, leaving Kareem to rebuild not just his shop but also his sense of joy and community. With a mix of humour, cultural nuance, and a touch of bittersweet reality, this short film explores the beautiful power of human connection and the resilience of the Palestinian spirit.
Deena Alsaweer is a Fulbright Scholar with an M.A. in Film/TV from the Savannah College of Art & Design. Since leaving her career in International Logistics a decade ago, Deena has gone on to win several best screenplay awards and has worked with a range of production companies on TV, digital projects, and films for broadcasters such as TVOKids, CBC, Unis TV, Hallmark, and Bell Fibe TV1. What drives her art is being a passionate champion for underrepresented voices.
Featured Cast
Sam Awwad Marianne Laver Ivana Khadaj Hussain Dawwas
Canadian Premiere
Co-presented by:
Lightbox 350 King St W, Toronto, Cinema 2
Arabic with English Subtitles
The Poem We Sang is a 20-minute, colour 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.
Annie Sakkab, a Palestinian-Jordanian-Canadian, 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.
Co-presented by:
Lightbox 350 King St W, Toronto, Cinema 2
60 minutes
Various
Short Films
2024
Canada
English
TPFFl is proud to present original work by local Palestinian filmmakers. The films were developed, workshopped, filmed and produced through the 2024 TPFF Film Residency, in partnership with Trinity Square Video. After an exciting year-long process, TPF presents the world premieres of these incredible films:
The Poem We Sang by Annie Sakkab
World Premiere
Lightbox 350 King St W, Toronto, Cinema 2
English
Four kids from the refugee camp in Bethlehem decide to visit the sea for the first time in their life.
Featured Cast
Omar Qaraqe, Ayham Qaraqe, Majd Al-Khatib, Omar Al Kurd
Canadian Premiere
Awards
Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, France, 2024; Rio de Janeiro International Short Film Festival, Brazil, 2024; Vienna Shorts, Austria, 2024.
Film Screening
Lightbox 350 King St W, Toronto, Cinema 1
115 minutes
Farah Nabulsi
Narrative
2023
UK, Palestine, Qatar
The additional seats are now sold out. Please note the new start time and theatre space. We will release any additional tickets if they become available.
English
The Teacher is a gripping film that delves into the complex realities of life in occupied Palestine. Directed by Farah Nabulsi, the film tells the story of a dedicated teacher (Saleh Bakri) who strives to educate and inspire his students amidst the harsh and oppressive conditions of military occupation. As he navigates his committment to political resistance and the daily challenges faced by one of his students, and the possibility for a new love, the teacher becomes a symbol of resilience and hope. Through powerful storytelling and compelling performances, Nabulsi captures the indomitable spirit of those who continue to fight for justice and freedom.
Featured Cast
Saleh Bakri, Imogen Poots, Muhammad Abed Elrahman
Awards
Rotterdam Arab Film Festival 2024 - Winner Audience Award ; Brooklyn Film Festival 2024 - Winner Audience Award ; Galway Film Fleadh 2024 - Winner Best International Film ; San Francisco International Film Festival 2024 - Winner Audience Award