As the Algerians phrased it to the Pieds-Noirs in 1962, are the “suitcase or the coffin” the only prospects for the Palestinians?
JS: The comparison to the Europeans who had to leave Algeria doesn’t seem appropriate to me. The Palestinains are no Pieds-Noirs, and the Israelis are no Algerians. You cannot compare these situations. I understand the feeling, but Hind stands for quite the opposite. Granted, she sacrificed her love life, but her journey shows what the future could be for Palestinians. Palestinians who, despite harsh living conditions, have a high level of education compared to other Arab nations in the area. RB: You acknowledged how little you knew about the Palestinians before reading Rula Jebreal’s book and bringing it to the screen. This very subjective book is fully captured by your camera. Don’t you find Rula Jebreal’s book, written from her own perspective, to be the worst starting point to depict the reality of it all? JS: Each human story is unique and deserves our attention. That’s how I felt about Miral’s story. The world is a sum of these unique lives. What’s more, a filmmaker is not a hist
