LITTLE PALESTINE, DIARY OF A SIEGE

Abdallah Al-Khatib

lebanon france qatar 2021 89 min

Yarmouk a district of Damascus in Syria was home to one of the largest Palestinian refugee communities in the world. When the Syrian revolution began the Assad regime besieged the district from 2013 onwards cutting its inhabitants off from the outside world and depriving them of food medicine and electricity. Born and raised in Yarmouk filmmaker Abdallah Al-Khatib documents daily life under siege between 2011 and 2015. Through the experiences of his family and fellow residents he bears witness to hunger bombardment and forced displacement while revealing the solidarity education music love and joy through which people struggled to preserve their dignity.

• About the film

  Original title Little Palestine, Journal d’un siège

  Arabic title فلسطين الصغيرة، يوميات حصار

  Directed by Abdallah Al-Khatib

  Written by Abdallah Al-Khatib

  Featuring Abdallah Al-Khatib and the residents of Yarmouk

  Cinematography Abdallah Al-Khatib Basel Abdullah Yahya Diaa Mohamad R M Hamid Majd M A Almassri Mouayad Zaghmout Qusai Abu Qasem

  Editing Qutaiba Barhamji

  Sound Pierre Armand

  Production Companies Bidayyat for Audiovisual Arts Films de Force Majeure

• Festivals & Awards

  Visions du Réel — Nyon
  2021 | International Feature Film Competition — World Premiere
  Interreligious Award

  ACID — Festival de Cannes
  2021 | ACID Selection

  FilmFest Hamburg
  2021 | Official Selection
  Audience Award

  Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival
  2021 | New Asian Currents
  Ogawa Shinsuke Prize

  Vancouver International Film Festival — VIFF
  2021 | Official Selection
  Impact Audience Award

  BFI London Film Festival
  2021 | Official Selection

  International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam — IDFA
  2021 | Best of Fests

  War on Screen — International Film Festival
  2021 | Official Selection
  Press Jury Award

  CINEMED — Montpellier Mediterranean Film Festival
  2021 | Documentary Competition
  Prix Ulysse

  Verzió International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival
  2021 | Official Selection
  Best Human Rights Film

  Dingle International Film Festival
  2022 | Official Selection
  Best Documentary Award

  Taiwan International Documentary Festival — TIDF
  2022 | Official Selection

  Amman International Film Festival — Awal Film
  2022 | Arab Feature-Length Documentary Competition
  Black Iris Award — Best Feature-Length Arab Documentary

  International Film Festival Innsbruck — IFFI
  2022 | Documentary Competition
  Best Film

  RAI International Festival of Ethnographic Film
  2023 | Official Selection