R 21 AKA Restoring Solidarity

The growing struggle for Palestinian self-determination between 1960 and 1980 was supported by radical left-wing movements worldwide. Japanese audiences, who felt oppressed by the US after WWII, both sympathized and identified with Palenstinans, and embraced dubbed versions of pro-Palestine films by militant filmmakers. Director Mohanad Yaqubi draws on these films—which include interviews with PLO leaders, footage of life in refugee camps, experimental fictions, and tourism films—to explore how two very different peoples can feel connected through images. At the same time, he investigates the line between support and propaganda, questioning to what extent a local struggle can be translated internationally.