HALEMEH

Mahdi Amel in Gaza: On the Colonial Mode of Production

February 2024 •English

Assassinated Lebanese intellectual Mahdi Amel — often dubbed “the Arab Gramsci” — famously said: “He who resists is never defeated.” What use is his thought to us today, and what is our responsibility as image makers to Gaza?

Occupation 101: Voices of the Silenced Majority

March 2006 •English

A thought-provoking documentary on the current and historical causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and U.S. political involvement.

The Judge

September 2017 •English

A verité legal drama about Judge Kholoud Al-Faqih, the first woman appointed to a Shari'a court in the Middle East, whose career provides rare insights into both Islamic law and gendered justice.

Les enfants de la lanterne magique

April 2023 •French

Freedom Swimmer

September 2022 •English

Olivia Martin McGuire (China Love) parallels a grandfather’s journey to safety during the Cultural Revolution with his granddaughter’s fight for freedom in Hong Kong today. Interweaving unflinching testimony of the elder’s exodus from the Chinese mainland, exquisitely animated recreations of the perilous escape to Hong Kong through land and sea, and vivid, evocative archival footage of both mid-20th-century China and the Hong Kong protests today, Freedom Swimmer emerges as a gripping and timely account of the struggle for survival across generations.

Makun (no llores) - Dibujos en un CIE

January 2019 •Spanish

Alice in the Land of National Guard of Russia

August 2019 •Russian

A girl from St. Petersburg walks around protest-ridden Moscow, talking to riot police and believing that sooner or later they will go over to the side of the demonstrators. An 18-year-old student of a St. Petersburg college introduces herself as Alice and tells about herself that from the age of four she lived in an orphanage and in foster families. In Moscow, Alisa, for whom this is the first rally in her life, walks along the police cordons and looks under the OMON helmet. "Under the mask you can't see, are you even human?"

Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone

February 2025 •English

Follow the lives of four young people trying to survive the Israel-Hamas war as they hope for a ceasefire - a vivid and unflinching view of life in a warzone.

Trans*BUT — Fragments of Identity

April 2015 •Turkish

Fragmentary perspectives on Human Rights and transgender (trans*) People in Turkey. What remains at the place where a murder happened? What constitutes trans* life? How to cope with daily violence and hatred? We begin to search for traces. We follow the tracks of resistance and survival. We are collectors of the expelled. We gather fragments of trans* lives inspired by texts of Nazim Hikmet, Foucault, Benjamin and Zeki Müren. Trans*BUT is a documental research study driven by the question: “What keeps you going when all else falls away?”

La Trifulca I. Five Billion Dollar. A Trilogy

October 2019 •English

An exodus of migrants settled in Tijuana and they hope to cross each day regardless of the consequences, the children tell us what they see, want and what they are willing to pay.

Band of Exile

July 1994 •English

Here in Toronto, four young Somali refugees are finishing high school. What did they bring with them? What did they find in Canada? Their testimonies, about us and about themselves, interspersed with newsreel footage and sequences of a theatrical creation in which they put all their soul, make them immediately endearing and overturn many prejudices held against refugees. A film that makes you want to get to know them better.

An Oppressed People Is Always Right

May 1976 •Danish

In May 1974, the Israeli Air Force carried out an extermination operation against the Palestinian refugee camp Nabatiyeh. With this as a starting point, it is reviewed how the last 50 years of Zionist colonization of Palestine have partly led to the establishment of the state of Israel, partly to the expulsion of a people, the Palestinians, from their land. The film shows scenes of daily life in Palestinian refugee camps. We hear various of the inhabitants talk about their desire to return to their country, and we follow how the resistance movement works to free women from their traditional backward role. At the same time, the emergence of the armed resistance struggle is analysed, and the significance of the latest military technological developments for guerilla wars in the 3rd world is explained.

letters to eleanore

June 2024 •English

"letters to eleanore" is a poignant feature-length documentary that explores the intertwined journeys of two remarkable girls, Keith from Canto Grande in Lima, Peru, who bravely navigates life with cerebral palsy alongside her devoted mother, and Olivia from Litchfield, Minnesota, whose experiences highlight the stark contrasts in societal attitudes towards disability in their respective countries. As their narratives unfold, they are beautifully interwoven with the legacy of Eleanore and her family, whose life, untimely death, and the impact of her wheelchair ignited a powerful movement of hope for countless children and their families facing similar challenges. This film is not just a story of perseverance and love; it is a testament to the strength of community, brought to life through the collaborative efforts of volunteers, students, and communities across Peru and the United States, embodying a true grassroots style of storytelling that resonates with authenticity and compassion.

Chuy, The Wolf Man

September 2015 •English

Jesus 'Chuy' Aceves and a dozen living members of his extended family suffer from the very rare condition of congenital hypertrichosis, meaning they were born with excessive hair on their faces and bodies. Due to their appearance, they suffer from discrimination in all areas of their lives: the children are made fun of at school and abandoned by their 'non-hairy' parents, and the adults cannot find work unless they choose to exhibit themselves as freaks in circuses. This moving and visually arresting documentary is a portrait of Chuy and his family members. It examines their day-to-day lives and their struggle to find love, acceptance and employment.

Holy Land: Startup Nations

March 2017 •English

With the most tech startups and venture capital per capita in the world, Israel has long been hailed as The Startup Nation. WIRED’s feature-length documentary looks beyond Tel Aviv’s vibrant, liberal tech epicenter to the wider Holy Land region – the Palestinian territories, where a parallel Startup Nation story is emerging in East Jerusalem, Nazareth, Ramallah and other parts of the West Bank, as well as in the Israeli cybersecurity hub of Be’er Sheva. And we will learn how the fertile innovation ecosystem of Silicon Wadi has evolved as a result of its unique political, geographical and cultural situation and explore the future challenges – and solutions – these nations are facing.

Nun Wa Zaytun

January 2015 •Arabic

A road trip through the hills, valleys and villages of Palestine, following Murad, the cinema-lover who has made it his mission to bring Palestinian cinema to Palestinians in forgotten and marginal communities in the West Bank.

The Resettlement Plan

November 2024 •Hebrew

Avi Amit’s “Real Time” documentary outlines the Israeli far right’s plan to resettle the Gaza Strip.

Warehoused

September 2017 •English

An estimated 12 million people live in refugee camps worldwide and only 0.1% are resettled, repatriated, or integrated into normal society each year. The feature-length documentary.

Fertile Memory

September 2024 •Arabic

A portrait of two Palestinian women whose individual struggles both define and transcend the politics that have torn apart their homes and their lives. Farah Hatoum, a widow living with her children and grandchildren, and Sahar Khalifeh, a novelist from the West Bank.

Süchtig nach Jihad

December 2014 •German