32 min, Color, 16 mm

Like countless Palestinian villages since 1948, Ma’loul has been erased from the map. Every year on Israel's ‘independence day’ (the only day that no permits are needed to move around that area freely) Ma'loul's expelled indigenous Palestinian inhabitants go back to their village, to show their children where they are from, to re-conjure the houses, the school, the bakery. They walk among their lemon trees. Apricots, almonds. As families share food, elders recount the history of the village. While Ma’loul is one of Nazareth-born filmmaker Michel Khleifi’s shortest films, he notes that it was the hardest to edit because he felt compelled to recount this colonial history in a succinct and undeniable way. In so doing, he nudges the difference between the idea of memory and memory itself; the knowledge of lived history in defiance of ideological history. While the film reflects on heritage and the inheritance of trauma, it also underlines that for the indigenous Palestinian population of Ma’loul the only "weapon" they have is what they have lived and experienced themselves – it is vital that they hold firmly to these. By placing a frame around these memories, the film itself becomes an act of remembrance. In underlining the role of storytelling against erasure, Khleifi reminds us of the power of framing, and narrating one's own history.

We are honored to include Maloul Celebrate its Destruction in this collection of films; it serves as a fitting epilogue because it marked a decisive turning point - until then, the Palestinian struggle was represented through the dream of return; Maloul depicts return itself. While still holding firm to memory, storytelling, and community as the fundamental threads of resistance, Khleifi’s masterpiece shifts the gaze from the outside in, signaling a new chapter in Palestinian cinema and refusal of the erasure.

Ma’loul Celebrate its Destruction is available in Arabic with English and French subtitles.

Directed By: Michel Khleifi