15/11/2024 - The established filmmaker speaks about his bittersweet road movie centred on a boy who stubbornly follows a carrier pigeon across Palestine, believing it has returned home

(© Cairo IFF)

Born and raised in a Gaza Strip refugee camp, professional painter and self-taught filmmaker Rashid Masharawi is an inspiring example of an artist who is doomed to create in any circumstances. He initiated the From Ground Zero [+see also:
film review
film profile] omnibus film, gathering 22 Palestinian directors to reflect on the events following the attacks of 7 October 2023, which was chosen as Palestine's Oscar entry and features among the Special Screenings at the 45th Cairo International Film Festival, while his eighth feature, Passing Dreams [+see also:
trailer
interview: Rashid Masharawi
film profile], has just opened said festival. We took the opportunity to ask him about his never-ending sense of humour and the adventures that filming in Palestine sucks him into.

Cineuropa: Passing Dreams is a refreshing take on Palestinian reality, as audiences, especially in the West, are used to seeing films from oppressed territories that focus only on grief. But here, the viewer can experience a much broader range of emotions. What is your philosophy behind this approach?
Rashid Masharawi: For me, it’s about showing the complexity of Palestinian society. I never portray our people as just victims or heroes. We have good and bad aspects – also corruption, like everywhere else. Humour allows us to touch on painful subjects – this helps prevent those problems from growing bigger. I try to show this balance in my films and to give a sense of hope as well. Cinema can create hope where it doesn’t visibly exist.

In your director's statement, you mention that "things change when your perception of them changes", which your cinema reflects by finding comic elements even in tragic situations.
I think this humour reflects the reality of Palestinian life. While we’ve been under occupation for many years, and the world is aware of this, humour is still a part of our daily lives. This isn’t often shown in cinema. Palestinians find themselves in absurd or ironic situations, and I think that laughing about it is also a form of resistance. It helps us endure.

You use a road-movie format to take us through territories like Bethlehem and Jerusalem, which are often seen through a touristic or Israeli lens. Was it your intention to show these places from a Palestinian perspective?
I wanted to show the beauty and the difficulties of these places, and to explore the family's journey. As one understands while watching the film, finding the pigeon isn’t the real goal – the path is what matters. Through this road journey, the family discovers who they are and where they’re from. The story also explores their connection to Haifa and their efforts to reconcile.

You are one of the few Palestinian directors who shoots in the occupied territories. What kind of challenges do you face?
Making films here is always difficult. Transportation between locations is complicated. We film without permission from Israeli authorities, so we often disguise ourselves as different production teams. In Jerusalem, we pretended to be a news crew; in Haifa, we worked with a local production company. Every day, we had to plan several alternatives. We always have a plan A, B and C, very often using the third option just to keep filming.

Can you tell us about a situation related to Passing Dreams where you used plan C?
Emilia Massou, the girl playing Mariam, wasn’t allowed to enter Jerusalem. We tried to get permission, but it didn’t work. So, we had her travel with one of the producers who could pass through, but when that didn’t work either, she joined a Palestinian man with an Israeli passport. Thankfully, she got past without any issues. Also, we had to split our team in Jerusalem to protect our footage and equipment in case we were stopped.

You have made many films despite these difficulties. If the Israeli authorities read about your methods, would they manage to restrict you further?
They don’t allow us much freedom anyway. I don’t feel obliged to seek permission from an occupation authority. Jerusalem isn’t “theirs”, and I don’t need permission to film in our city. For Passing Dreams, we also did some Jerusalem scenes in Bethlehem to avoid these restrictions.

When writing the script, did you base the characters on anyone in particular?
They are symbolic and original creations. The pigeon, for example, represents more than just a bird – it’s a symbol of hope, dreams and freedom, and each scene has layers of double meanings.

I was seeking to conceive a warm family dynamic, and casting little Adel Abu Ayyash for the role of Sami was especially challenging. We did many auditions to find someone who could embody the combination of innocence and determination. Ashraf Barhom, who plays the uncle, is an experienced actor and helped me a great deal to work with the younger ones.

Do you have a distribution plan for the film after Cairo?
CineWaves Films will handle distribution across the Arab world, while Coorigines Production in France will take care of the rest, except the Scandinavian region, which will be managed by our Swedish co-producer, Kinana Films.

Do you have any upcoming projects?
I’m working on a film with the working title Kids of the Country, set to begin filming in the latter half of 2025. It will tell Palestinian stories that are happening in Amman, Jordan.