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Muhi – Generally Temporary
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Muhi – Generally Temporary
IDFA 2017

Muhi – Generally Temporary

Rina Castelnuovo-Hollander, Tamir Elterman
Israel, Germany
2017
87 min
Dutch Premiere
Festival history

Muhi sings Hebrew songs and counts in Arabic. This Palestinian boy has lived almost his entire young life in an Israeli hospital, where he was taken as a baby because of a serious autoimmune disease. To save his life, doctors amputated his arms and legs. Due to the shattered health care system in Gaza, Muhi couldn’t return home after the operation, and his grandfather decided to stay with him. The cameras follow the pair for four years, leading up to Muhi's seventh birthday. We witness the major moments in their lives, all of which take place in and around the hospital. The images naturally reveal the madness of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: visits from family members take months of preparation and then end up not happening, often because they can’t get past one of the innumerable checkpoints. But Muhi seldom lets things get him down, cheerfully capturing the hearts of Jews and Palestinians alike, even though he's forthright about his own identity: "I’m not a Jew, I’m an Arab!"

Credits
Director
Co-production
    Neue Celluloid Fabrik
    Neue Celluloid Fabrik
Involved TV Channel
    Yes Docu,
    EOdocs
    Yes Docu,
    EOdocs
World Sales
    LAGARDERE STUDIOS DISTRIBUTION
    LAGARDERE STUDIOS DISTRIBUTION
Screening copy
    Neue Celluloid Fabrik
    Neue Celluloid Fabrik