Recommended Documentaries
These are some recommended documentaries. They do not cover all subjects nor do the represent all opinions. The reason they appear here is that they have impressed me, given me food for thought and pushed me to search further to understand Palestine/Israel today.
History of Palestine
Al-Nakba: The Palestinian Catastrophe is a four-part documentary, tracing the history that led up to the Nakba – the catastrophe experienced by the Palestinians in 1948. The documentary was made by Al-Jazeera, the Qatar-based news service.
Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4
The Nakba: The Palestinian Catastrophe 1948
The Nakba: The Palestinian Catastrophe 1948 is a 1996 hour-long documentary made by an Israeli director Benny Brunner (with Alexandra Jansse) and presents the historical narrative of what happened in 1948 together with interviews with both Israelis and Palestinians who participated in the events.
1948
1948 is a recording of the memories of those who survived the Nakbah in 1948, recalling the trauma and the loss. Muhammad Bakri, renown Palestinian actor and director filmed these interviews in 1998 and inserted excerpts from well-known Palestinian literature.
Tantura trailer
Tantura is a 2022 documentary made by Israeli Alon Schwarz telling the story of the destruction of a village, Tantura, south of Haifa, and the massacre that took place there. It also documents the difficulties encountered in trying to research what really happened.
Israel
Route 181: Fragments of a Journey in Palestine-Israel
Route 181: Fragments of a Journey in Palestine-Israel is a 2003 documentary, made by Israeli Eyal Sivan and Palestinian Michel Khleifi. They journey through Palestine/Israel, along the borders foreseen by the 1947 partition plan.
Izkor, Slaves of Memory extracts
Izkor: Slaves of Memory is a 1991 documentary made by Israeli Eyal Sivan about the teaching of the Shoah in the Israeli education system. The film examines the intimate relations between how memory is used for political interests.
Defamation trailer
Defamation is a 2009 documentary of Israeli Yoav Shamir. It explores what antisemitism is and how it is weaponized in Israeli and Zionist discourse. The documentary is provocative and irreverent.
The Settlers
The Settlers is a 2016 documentary made by Israeli Shimon Dotan. It traces the development of the Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel and the life of the settlers.
Objector
Objector is a 2019 documentary made by Molly Stuart that traces the struggle of Atalya, an Israeli conscientious objector, with the Israeli military and her growing awareness of the life of the Palestinians living under Israeli occupation.
Israelism
Israelism is a 2023 documentary about how the Israeli–Palestinian conflict is presented to Jews in the Diaspora. Directed by Erin Axelman and Sam Eilertsen, the film describes the growing awakening of young Jewish Americans to what is going on in Palestine/Israel.
The Occupation of the American Mind: Israel's Public Relations War in the United States
The Occupation of the American Mind: Israel’s Public Relations War in the United States is a 2016 documentary to show how the Israeli leadership and the pro-Israel lobby shape the views of the American people with regard to the occupation.
Palestine
No Other Land Trailer
No Other Land is a 2024 documentary that won an Oscar. It is the work of Palestinians Basel Adra, and Hamdan Ballal, and Israelis Yuval Abraham, and Rachel Szor, documenting the plans to demolish Palestinian villages in the south Hebron hills.
Five Broken Cameras
Five Broken Cameras is a 2013 documentary, co-directed by Palestinian Emad Burnat and Israeli Guy Davidi. It focuses on the protests in Bil’in, a West Bank village under Israeli occupation.
The Stones Cry Out
The Stones Cry Out is a 2013 documentary directed by Yasmine Perni describing the life of Christian Palestinians in Palestine.
The People’s Patriarch
The People’s Patriarch is a 2020 documentary by Palestinian Muhammad Alatar in which Michel Sabbah, retired Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem shares his reflection on the situation in Palestine.
War in Gaza (2023-2025)
October 7
October 7 is an al-Jazeera documentary researching the events that occurred on October 7, 2023 when Palestinian militants broke through the Gaza/Israel border and killed about 1200 people, destroyed homes and took about 250 hostages into Gaza.
Israel's Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza
Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza is a 2024 short documentary on the genocide in Gaza produced by Amnesty International.
'Our Genocide': How do Israelis feel about the war in Gaza?
‘Our Genocide’: How do Israelis feel about the war in Gaza? Is a short documentary of the British The Guardian, on Israeli opinions about the war in Gaza.