Farah Nabulsi's debut feature film "The Teacher" is headed to U.S. theaters
Here’s why you should watch it:
“The Teacher” is a heartfelt story that will take you to the fertile olive bearing lands of Palestinian villages.
Farah Nabulsi’s debut feature film delves into the ugly realities Palestinians are subjected to. Life in Palestine seems so simple from afar, yet she redirects her audience’s attention to the complexities in these communities, taking viewers on a rollercoaster of emotions from grief to love, which embody Palestinian resilience in everyday characters like a teacher and his students.
The relationship between teacher and student in “The Teacher” is one that is so unique to the Palestinian narrative even though the film is fictitious. Simply put, this war-drama will make Palestinians, like myself,yearn for our villages, and our ancestors' stolen land and olive trees.
The movie was shot in the West Bank–despite the difficulties in doing so. While the film was based on the village of Burin in the occupied West Bank, the team had to film in a neighboring village for safety reasons, Nabulsi told Palestine in America.
The main character Basem, played by Saleh Bakri, a Palestinian, who teaches English in the village school for boys, is neighbors with two of his students, who are brothers. The younger and more studious brother Adam is played by Mohammad Abed ElRahman, and Yacoub, who was recently released from Israeli prison in the film, is played by Mahmoud Bakri. The British volunteer and white savior is played by Imogen Poots
The film tackled multiple themes and issues Palestinians deal with consistently under the brutal Israel occupation and Nabulsi does so in riveting and realistic fashion. From illegal imprisonment, to home demolitions and settler violence, she dives into these perplexing subject matters in a way that keeps viewers engaged from beginning to end, while educating the masses about the plight of her people.
The Palestinian director says their narrative was hijacked for so long, that working on creative projects like “The Teacher” is therapeutic. She says she and other Palestinian creatives are doing the work to regain control of their stories.
The Teacher will begin screening in the United States on April 11th in New York and will be available nationwide beginning April 18th thanks to their U.S. distributor Watermelon Pictures. You can find screening location and tickets at: theteacher-film.com/. Nabulsi will attend the premiere screenings in New York and California.
Nabulsi joined the Palestine in America podcast to discuss her career, the making of this important film and much more.
