22/18

The house you live in, being destroyed by bulldozers

Line of Events

This film made by a Palestinian-Israeli collective shows the destruction of the occupied West Bank’s Masafer Yatta by Israeli soldiers and the alliance which develops between the Palestinian activist Basel and Israeli journalist Yuval.. Just imagine. Imagine having the choice: living in a cave or building a new house.

The film shows how a village on the West Bank is being systematically destroyed by the Israeli occupiers

Imagine having to watch the new house being destroyed by bulldozers too.This is what is being documented in 'No Other Land', and it makes your blood boil. Its inhabitants resist, organize protests and start a court case, but nothing can stop the process.The film hits you like a punch in the stomach. A lot of the footage is filmed by small handheld cameras or smartphones, which gives it a genuine authenticity.

Although friendship is perhaps not the right word

Another strength of the film is that it not only documents the demolishing of the buildings, but also the friendship between the Palestine activist Basel and the Israeli journalist Yuval, who wants to raise public awareness about the injustice. They are colleagues and brothers-in-arms, but the difference between them is always palpable. "You have to learn to lose", Basel tells Yuval when the journalist notices that there is not much interest in his stories.

It reminded me of similar documentaries like 'For Sama' or '20 days in Mariopul'

"We have been fighting for decades, you can't change the situation in a few days".Yuval's involvement gives the film an extra layer. For the Palestinians, he will always be a 'yehudi' from the other side, who can go home to his comfortable life. But for his fellow Israelis, he is sympathizing with the enemy, and they accuse him for his involvement in Palestinian activism.The film contains peaceful moments, when Basel and Yuval discuss the situation by an open fire or smoke a hookah, but also shocking images of villagers being shot down, in one case paralysing the victim and reducing him to a miserable life without proper care.The film has an enormous emotional impact.

The film makers stopped filming in October 2023, when everything changed in Israel and Palestine

Of course, the events of the last 12 months give the film an extra urgency. We know that the village is a symbol of so much more injustice, bloodshed and cruelty. And we also know that now not only houses are being destroyed, but the lives of thousands of innocent people.