Philip Rizk, Nayef Hashlamoun / Egypt, Palestine / 2009 / 29 min / Arabic with English subtitles

THIS PALESTINIAN LIFE is a film about people who perservere despite the odds stacked against them. The film documents specifically the aspects of perseverance or steadfastness of the Palestinian nonviolent struggle against Israeli occupation and the deliberate, ongoing, illegal annexation of Palestinian land. An Arabic term used for everyday acts of nonviolent resistance is sumoud – steadfastness, perseverance. In the film, Egyptian activist and filmmaker, Philip Rizk, tells the stories of Palestinian villagers who attempt to remain steadfast, to persevere, in the face of settler violence, the injustice and duplicity of the Israeli government, and the ambivalence of the international community.Among the many attempts to portray and communicate the reality of the Palestinian situation, THIS PALESTINIAN LIFE does something unique. The film does not attempt to provide an overview of the entire conflict. No "expert" opinions are featured. Rather, it takes an oral history approach and listens to particular individuals – both women and men, young and old – and their experiences under Israeli occupation.In their quiet way, the individuals show you that they would rather speak out than remain quiet, that they would rather remain steadfast than react violently, and that they would rather die than leave their land. THIS PALESTINIAN LIFE seeks to celebrate that threatened culture. The unity of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank is acknowledged by featuring communities from both areas. The film seeks to connect community leaders from the segregated Palestinian areas of Gaza and the West Bank with each other, so that they can build upon each other's efforts and that each might be inspired by other's sumoud. 

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