Mathijs Poppe

The Jacket

Jamal Hindawi, a 50-year-old Palestinian, lives with his family in the Shatila refugee camp in Beirut, where he makes political theatre. Together with a group of friends, he is working on a play that tells the story of an old jacket that symbolises the Palestinian identity. One day, after rehearsals, Jamal goes into the mountains with his friend Zreik, and on the way there he loses the jacket on a bus. A journey unfolds that takes Jamal from the mountains through Beirut, a city in radical transition, where successive crises and protests have left deep scars.

The Jacket

Jamal Hindawi, a 50-year-old Palestinian, lives with his family in the Shatila refugee camp in Beirut, where he makes political theatre. Together with a group of friends, he is working on a play that tells the story of an old jacket that symbolises the Palestinian identity. One day, after rehearsals, Jamal goes into the mountains with his friend Zreik, and on the way there he loses the jacket on a bus. A journey unfolds that takes Jamal from the mountains through Beirut, a city in radical transition, where successive crises and protests have left deep scars.

Ours is a Country of Words

"Ours is a Country of Words" takes place in Shatila, a refugee camp built in Lebanon when thousands of Palestinians fled their country in 1948. The story begins at an unknown moment in the future, when the dream of the Palestinian refugees to go back to Palestine becomes reality. The film balances on the thin line between fiction and documentary, between dream and reality. Families are preparing for their fictional return, while it slowly becomes clear that this dream is far removed from their daily life in the camp. Through the words they use as actors to talk about the dream of returning to their homeland, we can understand more deeply what it means to them to live in exile.

Ours is a Country of Words

"Ours is a Country of Words" takes place in Shatila, a refugee camp built in Lebanon when thousands of Palestinians fled their country in 1948. The story begins at an unknown moment in the future, when the dream of the Palestinian refugees to go back to Palestine becomes reality. The film balances on the thin line between fiction and documentary, between dream and reality. Families are preparing for their fictional return, while it slowly becomes clear that this dream is far removed from their daily life in the camp. Through the words they use as actors to talk about the dream of returning to their homeland, we can understand more deeply what it means to them to live in exile.

Ours is a Country of Words

"Ours is a Country of Words" takes place in Shatila, a refugee camp built in Lebanon when thousands of Palestinians fled their country in 1948. The story begins at an unknown moment in the future, when the dream of the Palestinian refugees to go back to Palestine becomes reality. The film balances on the thin line between fiction and documentary, between dream and reality. Families are preparing for their fictional return, while it slowly becomes clear that this dream is far removed from their daily life in the camp. Through the words they use as actors to talk about the dream of returning to their homeland, we can understand more deeply what it means to them to live in exile.