Chicago Palestine Film Festival: FADIA’S TREE

Showings

THEATER 1 Wed, Apr 24 6:00 PM
Film Info
Runtime:82
Release Year:2022
Production Country:United Kingdom
Original Language:Arabic
English
Cast/Crew Info
Director:Sarah Beddington
Screenwriter:Sarah Beddington

Description

While millions of birds migrate freely in the skies, a Palestinian refugee in Lebanon yearns for the ancestral homeland she is denied. She challenges Sarah, the Director, to find an ancient mulberry tree that stands as witness to her family’s existence—with only inherited memories, a blind man and a two-headed dragon as her guides. Along the way, Sarah meets with ornithologists whose observations on the homing instincts of the birds highlight the unresolved problems of the region. Spanning fifteen years, this story of a friendship that stays connected across a divided land and a fragmented people adopts a birds’ eye perspective to reflect on freedom of movement, exile and the hope of return. Preceded by FOREVER KHALID (2023, dir. Yousef Salhi, 9 min., Content warning: mental health struggles) and MAR MAMA (2023, dir. Majdi El Omari, 16 min.).