Skies Above Hebron

Amer loves pigeons; they can fly anywhere they want. The first minutes of this coming-of-age story, which was filmed in Hebron over five years, reveal just how little freedom of movement he and his little brother Anas have. The boys, then aged 11 and 7, keep pigeons on their roof, which is adjacent to the home of an Israeli settler. Their every movement is monitored from two nearby Israeli watchtowers. One minute the boys are simply playing, the next minute there are armed soldiers at the door because the settler has complained. A soldier gives the camera a shove, but the threatening situation fizzles out.

Marwaan also lives right next to an Israeli colony, which means he can’t move freely either. There is a checkpoint on his street, and incidents are constantly occurring between stone throwers and soldiers. Local residents like him become the victims. How do these three young Palestinians cope in a society under such stress?