Leila Khaled: Hijacker
A film by Lina Makboul

In 1969 Palestinian Leila Khaled made history by becoming the first woman to hijack an airplane. As a Palestinian child growing up in Sweden, filmmaker Lina Makboul admired Khaled for her bold actions; as an adult, she began asking complex questions about the legacy created by her childhood hero. This fascinating documentary is at once a portrait of Khaled, an exploration of the filmmaker’s own understanding of her Palestinian identity, and a complicated examination of the nebulous dichotomy between "terrorist" and "freedom fighter." More

Full Frame Doc F F, Spectrum Award, Hon. Mention

My Israel – Revisiting the Trilogy
A film by Yulie Cohen

Few filmmakers have probed issues of Israeli nationalism and Israeli-Palestinian relations more completely or intimately than Tel Aviv-born Yulie Cohen. In My Israel, Cohen revisits her acclaimed trilogy My Terrorist (2002), My Land Zion (2004), and My Brother (2007) with new footage, fresh perspective, and her trademark fearlessness. More

Salata Baladi (An Egyptian Salad)
A film by Nadia Kamel

Award-winning Egyptian filmmaker Nadia Kamel’s heritage is a complex blend of religions and cultures. Her mother is a half-Jewish, half-Italian Christian who converted to Islam when she married Nadia’s half-Turkish, half-Ukrainian father. Prompted by the realization that her 10-year-old nephew Nabeel is growing up in an Egyptian society where talk of culture clashes is all too common, she urges her feminist, pacifist, activist mother, Mary Rosenthal, to share their diverse family history. More

	Mumbai Int’l Film Festival, Golden Conch, Best Long Documentary, & Special Prize, Int’l Critics Jury FIPRESCI
	San Francisco Arab Film Festival, Noor Award, Outstanding Documentary

Soraida, Woman of Palestine
A film by Tahani Rached

Meeting Soraida will overturn any preconceived notions you may have about Palestine. In her neighborhood in Ramallah, the women do not all wear veils, the men do not rattle off empty political slogans, the young people do not strap bombs to their belts, and the children play together like children everywhere. In this city under siege and a strict curfew, she fights her own battle: despite the military occupation, violence and oppression, she is determined not to lose her humanity. In chronicling daily injustices and routine indignities– will there be enough water for the plants? Will school be open today? – this powerful documentary paints a subtly devastating portrait of life under occupation. Soraida wonders how to reconcile the multiple facets of her identity – as a woman, a mother and a committed Palestinian. As a patriot, she is tempted to join the struggle, while as a mother, she is responsible for her two children and must keep her distance. More

This is Not Living
Hay mish Eishi
A film by Alia Arasoughly

Directed by Alia Arasoughly – a Palestinian filmmaker living in war-torn Ramallah – this deeply moving piece explores the lives of eight Palestinian women and their struggle to live normal lives amidst the degrading drama of war, terror and military occupation. Representing a diverse cross-section of Palestinian society – from a news editor to a domestic worker to a housewife – they candidly speak about their daily encounters with violence and their marginalization in the ideological debate concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Neither political zealots nor submissive wives and mothers, they reveal the difficult task of negotiating their identity. More

To See If I'm Smiling (Lir’ot Im Ani Mehayechet)
A film by Tamar Yarom

Israel is the only country in the world where 18-year-old girls are drafted for compulsory military service. In this award-winning documentary, the frank testimonials of six female Israeli soldiers stationed in Gaza and the West Bank pack a powerful emotional punch. The young women revisit their tours of duty in the occupied territories with surprising honesty and strip bare stereotypes of gender differences in the military. The former soldiers share shocking moments of negligence, flippancy, immaturity and power-tripping as they describe atrocities they witnessed and participated in. More

	Int’l Doc FF Amsterdam (IDFA), Silver Wolf Award
	Int’l Doc FF, Amsterdam (IDFA), Audience Award

Women in Struggle
A film by Buthina Canaan Khoury

WOMEN IN STRUGGLE presents rare testimony from four female Palestinian ex-detainees who disclose their experiences during their years of imprisonment in Israeli jails and the effect it has had on their present lives and future outlooks. Once content in their lives as sisters, wives and mothers, each of the women became active members for the national fight for Palestinian independence, but their “crimes” differed markedly–one woman was detained in a peaceful protest while another was arrested for her participation in a bombing. More

	AMWA Excellence in Media Award
	Ismaelia Film Fest, Hussam Ali Award& Jury Mention