Maxime Lindon’s documentary singles out a Palestinian activist-turned-French-citizen as he returns for a holiday to his native village, Wadi Rahal, in the West Bank. The film explores Shadi’s attempt to reconnect with his roots during a three-week visit, where he confronts family expectations, evolving political realities, and his sense of belonging.
Lindon follows Shadi closely as he grapples with whether his emigration was a betrayal or a necessity. Screening in Horizons of Arab Cinema, the documentary highlights the strong Palestinian presence in this year’s Cairo Film Festival.
From scene one, audiences who are either exiled, in the diaspora, or have family members or friends abroad can relate to being welcomed by old friends and family members at arrivals in the airport, carrying a bag from duty-free. Whether it is a South American coming back home from the U.S., an Arab returning from Europe, or an Indian arriving from Australia, the sentiment remains the same.
In Shadi’s case, the warmth and emotions that Lindon captures are unique and beautifully depicted by Julien Darras’s camera. Even disappointment and awkwardness are captured when Shadi tells his family that he works in a supermarket, leaving behind his experience in politics and activism when his brother confronts him about the value of his exile.
Shadi’s welcome party extends beyond the airport, as almost the whole village and extended family come to greet him. Within the first ten minutes, the film points out that Palestinians’ relationship with their birth identity does not end, even if they naturalize and are no longer Palestinians on paper. For instance, Shadi faces difficulty crossing into the West Bank from Jordan despite holding a French passport.
Lindon’s documentary emphasizes how impossible and difficult life is in the West Bank amid the expanding Israeli settlements near the village and the continued brutalization of Palestinians by Israeli intelligence. Shadi himself was arrested and imprisoned before being released — a situation his brother also endured. However, Shadi does not solely blame external factors. He concludes that political organizations in Palestine are also weak (or weakened) and lack the influence needed to help their people.
Shadi’s voiceover accompanies the audience throughout the film. He is not necessarily a sophisticated intellectual calculating every move; rather, he does not hide his pragmatism. For example, when the truck he tried to hide in to get smuggled to the UK remained in France, he applied for political asylum there instead.
Shadi starts the “vacation” with optimism, thinking of returning to Palestine and getting married. However, he is faced with harsh realities — the impossibility of choice for Palestinians and the limitations of living under occupation. This is illustrated as Shadi recounts his past before emigrating to France: he was a construction worker in the settlements, allowed to move only with a security permit. Once his political involvement was noticed by the security forces, his permit was revoked.
Holidays in Palestine is not just another documentary about an identity crisis. Shadi will continue to be Palestinian, even if he swears the French oath a thousand times. What makes the documentary bold is its questioning of Shadi’s journey and whether it was ultimately marked by disillusionment. It grapples with whether his emigration was a betrayal or a necessity. What is missing from Lindon’s documentary is more insight from Shadi about the emotional cost of his exile (to challenge the stereotype that Arab men do not share their feelings). However, it should be acknowledged that Lindon allowed his subject the agency to tell his story his way—a point in the director’s favor.
Nevertheless, Shadi’s story and dilemma, as a human being torn between living a free and decent life in France and staying home to insist on the right to exist in Palestine, is more urgent to be shown now than ever. Holidays in Palestine is an attempt to humanize Arabs and Palestinians in the West, people who continue to carry the trauma and struggle of their homelands, inheriting a profound sense of helplessness.
Director: Maxime Lindon
Screenplay: Maxime Lindon, Julien Darras, Shadi Mohammed Alfawaghra
Producers: Julien Darras (Pitch Films), Eyal Sivan (Momento), May Odeh (Odeh Films)
Editors: Eualie Korenfeld, Laureline, Maxime Lindon
Cinematographer: Julien Darras
Sound: Tarek Abu Salameh
Production Company: Pitch Films, Momento Films, Odeh Films
In Arabic, French
100 minutes
