The Dream (Syria | 1981 | 45’ | 16mm | Color | Arabic|- with English Subtitles) Director: Mohammad Malas Cinematography: Hazem Baya‘a Sound: Hassan Salem Production: Maram Cinema

Filmed in Sabra and Shatila, Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, shortly before the massacre in 1982, this documentary’s principle reference is dreams, and not lived reality. It plays on this double register, where women, children, elderly and combatants speak the reality of their everyday, transposed eerily, in dreams, nightmares and premonitions. Ultimately they converge on what the Palestinians have lost: their homeland and a life with dignity.

 

Mohammad Malas
Born in 1945, Malas is one of Syria’s most renowned fiction filmmakers. His films were screened and awarded in many of the world’s greatest festivals. He also made many documentaries.