Habibi bistanan and al bahar

Sep 7 2013 N/A 1h 20m
Biography, Documentary, Fantasy

Hasan Hourani, a Palestinian poet and illustrator, died aged 29 in Jaffa while trying to rescue his nephew from the sea. Shortly after, the filmmaker Mais Darwazah discovers his drawings and poems and feels drawn to Hourani's world— a universe outside space and time; a place of wonder, discovery, and freedom. Motivated by this kinship, Darwazah embarks on a journey to her homeland, Palestine: a place she has never known.

Plot

'My Love Awaits Me by the Sea' is a poetic documentary narrating the story of director Mais Darwazah, who takes a first time journey back to her homeland, Palestine. She leaves a secluded reality and follows a lover whom she has never met; Hasan, a Palestinian artist, who unveils a beautiful and Utopian world to her. Fairytale and reality are woven together to question the elusiveness of place and the need to believe in dreams. In a land fragmented and engulfed by years of struggle, she finds her tranquil love awaiting her in a 'home' protected and held together by today's Palestinians. They defy their everyday reality - far removed from their needs - by holding onto their dreams. This film pays tribute to Hasan Hourani, a Palestinian artist who, with his imagination, rises above the Occupation. Hourani completed 'Hasan is Everywhere', a children's book of illustration and poetry, just before his tragic death by drowning in the forbidden sea of Jaffa in 2003. Throughout the film, both worlds of dream and reality provoke one another, to ask the questions of 'How do you return to a place that only exists in your mind?' 'How do you keep fighting for life when you're surrounded by so much death?' 'How can you continue believing in a dream when the outside world lives another reality?' And 'how can you own your version of the truth when history has taken it from you?'

Written by

Mais Darwazah

Directed by

Mais Darwazah

Production Countries

Germany, Jordan, Lebanon

Production Companies

Imaginarium Films, Mengamuk Films

Languages

English

Awards

1 win & 3 nominations

Scores
# of Votes
60
Average Rating
7.4 out of 10
Metascore
NA
Popularity
NA