GRAMNet Film Series

Salt of this Sea

Feature Film: Palestine (2008) | Director: Annemarie Jacir | Running Time: 109 Mins | Arabic and English With English Subtitles

Soraya, born in Brooklyn in a working-class community of Palestinian refugees, discovers that her grandfather’s savings were frozen in a bank account in Jaffa when he was exiled in 1948. Stubborn, passionate and determined to reclaim what is hers, she fulfils her life-long dream of “returning” to Palestine. Once there, slowly she is taken apart by the reality around her and is forced to confront her own anger. She meets Emad, a young Palestinian whose ambition, contrary to hers, is to leave forever. Tired of the constraints that dictate their lives, they know in order to be free, they must take things into their own hands, even if it’s illegal. In this quest for life, we follow their trail through remains of Palestine. This prize-winning film is the debut feature-length work from Annemarie Jacir (Like Twenty Impossibles). It premiered at Cannes to critical acclaim. Featuring Palestinian poet Suheir Hammad and emerging Palestinian star Saleh Bakri in their first lead roles, Jacir’s film also picked up twelve international awards and was theatrically released in Europe, the US, and Asia.