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Bashir Meraish was a high-ranking lieutenant in the Palestine Liberation Organization. When Bashir was four-years-old, two men attacked the car that he and his father were riding in, releasing 13 bullets and presumably killing them both.
25 years later, director Mahmoud al Massad examines Bashir’s miraculous life, a life that was thought to have ended on the night of the assassination. We hear the adult Bashir, in voice-over, wrestling with memories of his father, the history of Palestine, and an inspirational teacher who told him, “If your father’s weapon was a gun, yours is a pen.”
Filmography Director
Director/writer: Mahmoud al Massad
Independent Jordanian filmmaker Mahmoud al Massad was born in Jordan. Since 2002, Al Massad has divided his time between Jordan and The Netherlands to work on several projects including Shatter Hassan, and White Wall . His latest documentary is Recycle, a documentary that reveals from deep inside Zarqawi’s industrialised hometown, the intricate realities of life in the Middle East during escalating international tensions. It has shown at many international film festivals, and won the World Cinema Cinematography award at Sundance 2008 as well as receiving 7 awards at Cinema in Motion 3 at San Sebastian. Due to the political sensitivity and subject matter of Recycle, the approach was more objective. With this new film, the intent is to use a more imaginative approach, stretching past the normal limitations of documentary structure while tackling a story set against one of the most crucial issues of the 21st century.
Filmography ISee Film
iSee Film is a Netherlands-based production company dedicated to producing socially relevant artistic feature films and documentaries.
Director Mahmoud al Massad’s latest documentary, Recycle, which won several Cinema in Motion awards at the 2007 San Sebastian Film Festival, is the story of ex-Mujahadeen fighter Abu Ammar, who faces repeated setbacks as he struggles to reconcile his faith and the politicised reality of living in the Middle East. From deep inside the hometown of Zarqawi, the second most wanted terrorist and Al Qaeda’s leader in Iraq, Recycle reveals the intricate realities of life in the Middle East during escalating international tensions.
Other award-winning work from iSee Film includes Shatter Hassan, the story of a Moroccan flute player who followed his dreams to Utrecht, Holland but instead found a nightmare of homelessness and drug addiction. This documentary won several awards, including the Golden Hawk at the Arab Film Festival Rotterdam, the Critic Award at the Ismalia International Film Festival, and was an official selection of the Cannes Short Film Corner. It continues to be used in educational workshops in Europe.
