This film review has been updated.
BRATTLEBORO-The upcoming second annual Palestine Film Series opening this weekend at the Latchis Theatre begins with No Other Land, the Oscar-winning full-length documentary. We hope that people, regardless of what side they are on, will see this remarkable film.
Filmed over five years by a collective of two Palestinian and two Israeli journalists/filmmakers/activists, No Other Land is a great film - not only because of the story they tell, but because of how they tell it.
Basel Adra, a photojournalist, shoots much of the story and at the same time is central to it. He was born and raised in the small West Bank agricultural community of Masafer Yatta, where Palestinian people have lived for generations. He documents houses being crushed by bulldozers and attacked by the Israeli army and settlers. We witness people confronting soldiers as they try to save their family homes from destruction.
We also meet Israeli journalist and film director Yuval Abraham, who, having learned Arabic, had his eyes opened to the harsh realities of the Israeli domination of the West Bank. Together, Yuval and Basel report on events from Masafer Yatta via social media.
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Yuval's deep friendship with Basel is palpable throughout the film, but their lives are unequal. Yuval has full freedom to travel and the protection of the law, while Basel and the families of Masafer Yatta effectively have no rights at all.
A poignant moment comes one evening, after a day's destruction and resistance, when the Palestinians tell Yuval that it could be his relatives who are inflicting harm. And yet it's clear that, despite suffering such great tragedy, they still maintain affection for him.
There are remarkable moments of courage and resistance that turn into tragedy. At night, a family begins rebuilding their home that has just been destroyed, and the next day, the Israelis come back and are furious to see walls arising from the debris.
A struggle takes place, as armed soldiers attempt to confiscate a generator that is used for electricity as well as the tools owned by Basel's cousin Harun. He is shot at close range by an Israeli soldier and is paralyzed from the neck down. His family must care for him in a cave where they are forced to shelter.
All of this is set against scenes of an arid, gently rolling countryside and beautiful star-filled night skies.
It is a sad reality that this film could not find a distributor in the United States because intolerant forces are determined to censor the realities of Gaza and the West Bank. No Other Land is now appearing at independent cinemas such as our Latchis Theatre.
Steve Minkin and Arlene Distler wrote this film review for The Commons. Editor's note: Owing to a significant editorial misunderstanding, the print version of this story attributed the provenance of this review to Southern Vermont for Palestine. The organization had reached out to Minkin and Distler to suggest a review but had no part in creating, submitting, approving, or advancing the piece. It should have been published under the rubric of Film Review.