Lyd

From the perspective of the city herself, voiced by Palestinian actress Maisa Abd Elhadi, the viewer is guided through the lifespan of a five-thousand-year-old city and its residents. With a rich history, Lyd was even considered the first capital of Palestine in 636AD. When the State of Israel was founded in 1948, Lyd became an Israeli city, and in the process, hundreds of Lyd’s Palestinian residents were massacred by Israeli forces, and most of the city’s 50,000 Palestinian residents were exiled. Today, the city has a Jewish Israeli majority and a Palestinian minority and is disinvested and divided by racism and violence. For Palestinians, Lyd’s story is a painful and tragic fall from grace, which is why our film dares to ask the question: what would the city be like had the Israeli occupation of Lyd never happened?

Using never-before-seen archival footage of the Israeli soldiers who carried out the massacre and expulsion, the city explains that these events were so devastating that they fractured her reality, and now there are two Lyds –one occupied and one free. As the film unfolds, documentary portions follow a chorus of characters through their daily lives, creating a tapestry of the Palestinian experience of this city, and vivid animations use the language of speculative fiction to envision an alternate reality where the same documentary characters live free from the trauma of the past and the violence of the present. As the film cuts between fantastical and documentary realities, it ultimately leaves the viewer questioning which future should prevail.

Amman International FF (Winner Jury Award, FIPRESCI Award), San Diego Arab FF (Winner Audience Choice Award), Sguardi Altrove International Women’s FF Milan (Winner Special Mention Official Jury, Special Mention and National Film Critics Union), The Black Box India, Human Rights FF Beirut, Palestinian Independence FF, Toronto Palestine FF, Cine Palestine Toulouse FF, Oxford Human Rights Festival, Leeds Palestinian FF, West Norwood Palestine FF South London, Boston Palestine FF, Palestine FF Amsterdam, Film My Design Festival Cairo, Oran International FF, Desi Fest Eugene Oregon, San Francisco Jewish FF, Rotterdam Arab FF, Falastin FF Scotland, CineMAS FF, Houston Palestine FF, Chicago Palestine FF, Palestine FF Kuwait, Palestinian FF Australia, Palestine Arts FF Zurich