Lyd

Palestinian filmmaker Rami Younis and Jewish American filmmaker Sarah Ema Friedland are behind this new, poetic documentary about Lyd (the Arabic name of Lod, now in Israel), a 5,000-year-old Palestinian city with a vibrant history (Rami Younis and Sarah Ema Friedland, 2023). Friedland writes that “[Younis] and I see our mode of storytelling as a political and playful act that simultaneously reclaims power from both dominant narratives and modes of storytelling to make something different.” Through inventive uses of animation and voice-over, Lyd imagines the city’s lush character, personified through a narration interpreted by Palestinian actress Maisa Abd Elhadi, as it moves through past, present, and future. The film imagines an alternate reality where Palestine was never occupied and Palestinians across varying faiths coexist in peace. In Arabic and Hebrew with English subtitles. (78 mins., DCP)