The Present

A 24 mins that will keep you on the edge of your seat as you get to experience a glimpse of the protagonist's perspective as he suffers just to get his wife...an anniversary present.

The film's introduction builds a connection between audience members and the characters of the short film just through one scene. With the help of the production design, our first look at the three characters that the story revolves around takes place at their house in a small bedroom where they share a cute family moment. As well as, cute husband and wife moment that tells us the relationship that the married couple have and the struggles they face. Thanks to this short introduction, an empathy is created in our hearts that carries on till the end of the struggling short trip that the protagonist makes.

Watched on: November 26th, 2023 My rating: 9/10.

I watched this film via a film festival and got to hear from the director that the opening scene of humans walking through an Israeli checkpoint were live and real. My God! Seeing these forbidden scenes that mainstream media won't show alone is a reason to watch this film. The beautiful superb acting and simple story being the point home beautifully. We need more from Palestinian film makers bearing witness to the plight of the plight of Palestinians in this humane way.

Greetings again from the darkness. It may look like the crowd filing out of a sports arena after a big match, but in fact, it's actual footage of an Israeli checkpoint in Palestine along the West Bank. Another big difference ... heavily armed soldiers and cages to detain those while identification is checked.

This is the life writer-director Farah Nabulsi shows us in her 23 minute gem of a short film. She focuses on Yusef (an excellent Saleh Bakri), a man struggling to make ends meet for his wife and young daughter. Today is his wedding anniversary and he agrees to take daughter Yasmine (Miriam Kanj) along on a shopping trip. She witnesses her dad battle severe back pain, as well as the frustrations in dealing with the armed guards at the checkpoint - even as he endures the humiliation of being caged in front of her.

Yusef is a good man and strives to protect his daughter and shield her from the tension and danger - often through humor or a warm embrace. Something as simple as replacing a fridge on the fritz is part of the daily struggle for folks like Yusef. Sometimes it takes the courage and reasonableness of a youngster to highlight the irrational rules that have taken over the world. The film has a grounded, realistic feel, and delivers a sobering message.

Most of the series that talks about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict are biased to Israel, but this film shows a part of the humiliation and suffering Palestinian face every day at Israeli checkpoints. Looking forward more like this in the future.

This film was so moving. The part I loved the most was how human the situation was. As you watch it, you feel the frustration of what its like to go through the day with that kind of adversity. When that adversity looks like abuse of power its especially difficult to digest. The young lady is so pure and a delightful soul. The thing that left me was that it only shows the story from the lens of "in the day of". It leaves you with the question, that what would be the consequence of making independent decisions. That anxiety hits you hard especially if you have experienced oppressive situations like this before. For many that have empathy or a history of systems like this, this movie definitely leaves a mark.