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Houston Palestine Film Festival 2024

Arts and Entertainment

April 13, 2024

From: Houston Palestine Film Festival

Schedule:

May 17, 2024

7:00 PM - "BYE BYE TIBERIAS"

In her early twenties, Hiam Abbass left her native Palestinian village to follow her dream of becoming an actress in Europe, leaving behind her mother, grandmother, and seven sisters. Thirty years later, her filmmaker daughter Lina returns with her to the village and questions for the first time her mother’s bold choices, her chosen exile and the way the women in their family influenced both their lives. Set between past and present, Bye Bye Tiberias pieces together images of today, family footage from the nineties and historical archives to portray four generations of daring Palestinian women who keep their story and legacy alive through the strength of their bonds, despite exile, dispossession, and heartbreak.

May 18, 2024

12:00 PM - "THE THREE PROMISES"
Is the story of Palestinian mother and her camera, of a son and his suppressed memories, and of an entire country. At the start of the 2000s, while the Israeli army is retaliating against the second intifada in the West Bank, Suha films her daily family life, punctuated by frequent trips underground and overwhelmed by the anguish of her two young children. At every moment of intense danger, she promises God that she will leave if they survive.

7:00 PM - "THE TEACHER"
Palestinian schoolteacher Basem (Saleh Bakri) grapples with personal devastation after a tragic incident involving his son. His life takes an unexpected turn when he forms a deep connection with Adam, one of his students, while also developing an unexpected bond with British social worker Lisa (Imogen Poots). Simultaneously, a high-profile American attorney and his wife seek the return of their son, an Israeli soldier held captive by a Palestinian resistance group. The group’s demand for a prisoner exchange creates tensions with authorities, intensifying the search for the soldier and drawing Basem and Adam’s neighbourhood into turmoil. Oscar-nominated director, Farah Nabulsi weaves these disparate yet interconnected stories into a gripping drama that is marked by empathy, unexpected twists, and unceasing provocations, anchored by Saleh Bakri's power-house performance.

3:00 PM - "INSHALLAH A BOY"
After the sudden death of her husband, Nawal is struggling to cope with the upheaval in her life.

However, her pain is soon compounded by the possibility of losing her home to her brother-in-law. Desperate to keep her home and provide a stable life for her daughter, Nawal resorts to deception by faking a pregnancy. But as time passes, the lie becomes harder to sustain and Nawal faces a difficult choice. With only three weeks to find a solution, Nawal embarks on a journey that challenges her fears, beliefs, and morality, as she fights to secure her rightful inheritance and protect her daughter's future.

May 19, 2024

3:00 PM - "A HOUSE IN JERUSALEM"

Young Rebecca is forced to move with her father from the UK to Jerusalem, in the hopes that a new beginning can help her heal from her mother's sudden death.

Soon after settling into an old house in a neighbourhood known as the Valley of the Ghosts, a series of mysterious events begin and Rebecca is blamed. Diving deep into the mystery of the house and the mystical city of Jerusalem, Rebecca sets out on an enigmatic journey to discover what hides in the shadows of the house.

Crafted by the talented duo Muayad and Rami Alayan, A HOUSE IN JERUSALEM is an eerily suspenseful and touching story told through the eyes of a young girl, exploring the strength of memory and the power of love.

7:00 - PM "LYD"

Rami Younis & Sarah Friedland
A story of a city that once connected Palestine to the world - what it once was, what it is now, and what it could have become.

Date: May 17 - 19, 2024

Location: Rice University, Sewell Hall, Room 301

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