In the Waiting Room

Occupied Palestinian Territories | 2024| 15min | Drama In the waiting room of an Israeli hospital, Hussien, a 48-year-old Palestinian with Israeli citizenship, sits beside his 70-year-old mother, Rashida, recently widowed. As he works on a looming academic deadline on his laptop, Rashida—leaving her house for the first time in three months—makes a gentle effort to socialize with those around her, speaking in her limited Hebrew. He was born in the village of Daburiyya, in the district of the city of Nazareth, where he worked as a wedding photographer with his brother in the village. He then moved to the city of Haifa to study for a bachelor's degree in photography, cinema, and arts at the WIZO Haifa Academy of Design and Education. There, he began turning toward filmmaking and became involved in the Palestinian film scene in the city of Haifa, where a vibrant, dream-driven young generation was emerging, aspiring to create independent films and artistic works. He directed his first film, a documentary titled Ihtiraq (Burning), and later transitioned to short fiction films, starting with In the Waiting Room. He also worked as a photography and cinema workshop instructor for children in several Arab villages in Occupied Palestine, during his studies in Haifa. He currently works as a lighting technician on various commercials and films. He also works as a distributor and seller of crane and hoist equipment, a role he took on after his father's passing, in order to finance his short films and continue writing and directing as an independent filmmaker.