Sentenced to Life Imprisonment

Amal Aljafari's documentary, With Hasan in Gaza, begins with a recitation against a blank, dark screen that talks about how blood falls in abundance in Palestine like the December rain; it flows freely like the ever-flowing Jordan River.

- NAMRATA JOSHI

AMAL ALJAFARI'S documentary, With Hasan in Gaza, begins with a recitation against a blank, dark screen that talks about how blood falls in abundance in Palestine like the December rain; it flows freely like the ever-flowing Jordan River. The film ends with another discourse, from the point of view of the Palestinians in exile, about making a return—no matter how long that journey takes—to the land that nurtured them and from where they have been absent for long.

In between lies a unique tale about the past implicitly seen through the filter of the present. One that doubly underscores the enormous loss experienced through the passage of time and some agonizing continuities that refuse to end. It reignites the somnolent, painful memories of even the happy moments, deliberately tucked away, deep in the recesses of the mind. The film, its theme and form have taken shape through the accidental rediscovery of three MiniDV tapes from back in 2001. These were recordings of Aljafari's road trip from the North to the South of Gaza, along with the local guide Hasan El-boubou, looking for a prison mate of his from 1989 when he himself was 17 years old.