Two must see films share something not seen in movies: Palestinian humanity.

Both films are Oscar contenders

There has never been a film before that I wish my late Palestinian father was alive to watch with me about the Palestinian experience. But now there are two, “All That is Left of You” and “The Voice of Hind Rajab.” While these films tackle vastly different topics, they both share a common focus on presenting to audiences something rarely seen: The humanity of Palestinians.

In fact, “All That is Left You,” directed and written by Emmy nominated director Cherien Dabis, showed me a side of my own Palestinian father’s life that I had never seen before. That was life for Palestinians like him in the 1940’s before the State of Israel was created by way of a 1947 United Nations’ resolution. Before that, the land for more than 400 years was known as Palestine and was a province of the Ottoman Empire.

When I spoke to Cherien—who also co-stars in the film and played Mo Amer’s sister in the Netflix series “Mo”—I asked her how important was it to her to depict Palestinians on the land, owning businesses, farming the land, etc.? Dabis responded, “I grew up with this myth that Palestine was a land without a people for a people without a land.” She added, I was so aware of these myths, you know, and it was just always like, no, that’s not right.”

The film makes that point as we see Palestinians thriving until the newly formed Israeli military drove them from their land. As Dabis noted, that is when “the major ethnic cleansing happened were more than half of Palestine’s population were dispossessed.”

The film also shares the joys of this intergenerational family that spans 75 years from weddings to the births of children to a prickly grandfather played by famous Palestinian actor Mohammad Bakri—who sadly passed away in December. Again, on a personal note, Cherien’s character in the film sings a Palestinian lullaby to her young child that my late father had sung to me and my sister when were children.

And of course, we see the pain of a Palestinian family raising a family under a cruel Israeli military occupation and the price that comes with. One of the most powerful moments in the film is when the character played by actor Saleh Bakri—the actual son of Mohammed Bakri-is humiliated by Israeli soldiers in front of his young son at a check point in the West Bank. Cherien shared this was inspired by what she had seen firsthand including when she was a young girl traveling there with her family and Israeli soldiers strip searched her entire family in a sheer exercise of humiliation.

Overall, this film presents the intergenerational trauma and joys that have so come to define being Palestinian. Not something we are used to seeing in movies.

You can watch my interview of the director/writer/co-star Cherien below

Then there is the riveting film “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” directed/written by Oscar nominated director Kaouther Ben Hania—a Tunisian filmmaker known for hybrid docudrama approaches. This film is based on the true story some may be familiar with of six-year-old Hind Rajab that took place in January 2024 in Gaza during the war. Her uncle, aunt and cousins were leaving the area of Gaza they live because the Israeli military ordered evacuation. That is when for unknown reasons, an Israeli tank fired more than 300 bullets at the car.

The young Hind was the only left alive. Her family members from outside the Gaza area called the Palestinian paramedics based in the West Bank to save her. The film features the actual audio of Hind speaking to the workers at the Palestinian Red Crescent—played by a great cast—as they frantically seek approval form the Israeli military to send an ambulance to help the little girl.

We hear Hind’s real voice in the film as she pleads with the people on the phone to “come get me” and “save me.” The drama watching the cast seeking approval to save her together with Hind’s voice is one of the most dramatic and powerful exchanges I’ve ever seen in a film.

After hours of back and forth, the Israeli military finally approved the route for the Palestinian ambulance crew. But as the ambulance approached the car Hind was trapped in, the Israeli military killed the paramedics—which was all captured on the phone in real time during the incident and played in the film.

Weeks later when the Israeli military left the scene, we see real footage from the scene of the car where Hind’s dead body was discovered surrounded by her dead relatives.

Kaouther shared how when she asked Hind’s mother about making this film, she supported it, telling the director, “I need justice for my daughter. And if this movie can help in a way, please do it.”

It’s not clear if this movie will lead to justice. But the director shared, “I did this movie with this, all the anger and all the sadness I have in my heart to not only bear witness, but as a call for action.” She added, the film was both to remember Hind—and referencing the thousands of Palestinian children killed in Gaza by the Israeli military in this war—”I did this movie also for them.”

Below is my interview of the director.

If you see these films in theaters by you or online, I hope you will check them out. Both tell a story that up until now has been invisible. Again, I wish my late Palestinian father was alive to watch both.

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