Palestine Islands

France, Jordan | 2023 | 22 min | Narrative Maha, 12, is part of the last generation of Palestinian refugees from the Balata camp. Following a faintness from her blind grandfather, she imagines a crazy project: to make him believe that the wall of separation has fallen and that a return to his native land is possible. With the help of her friends from the camp, the young girl imagines a funny trip for him... A film by Nour Ben Salem and Julien Menanteau After a master's degree in cinema at the Sorbonne and a TV series course at La Fémis, Nour Ben Salem worked as a scriptwriter for television and cinema. She co-wrote the feature film Hard shell, soft shell directed by Emma Benestan (2021), as well as several episodes of the series Reign Supreme for Arte/Netflix. Palestine Islands is her first work as a director. After studying cinema in Montreal and at the Sorbonne, Julien Menanteau directed his first short film Rikishi, followed by Samaritan, a creative documentary shot during two years in Palestine. Broadcasted on Arte, the film won a star from the SCAM. Lads, his first fiction feature, has just obtained an advance on receipts from the CNC.