Salt of This Sea

Annemarie Jacir's 2008 film follows Soraya, a Palestinian born in Brooklyn. She travels to the region to claim savings that have been frozen in a bank account in Jaffa since her grandfather's exile in 1948. That apparently simple transaction proves impossible at every point. The film places bureaucratic obstacles at the centre of the narrative: which document admits you where, which identity opens which door and who cannot go where. Soraya can move about on an American passport; Emad, who travels with her, cannot enter most places despite being born on the same land. Saleh Bakri plays Emad and the poet Suheir Hammad plays Soraya. The film screened in Un Certain Regard at Cannes and brought Annemarie Jacir forward as the first Palestinian woman to direct a feature. Who it's for: those who like Palestinian cinema and road films built on identity and borders. Who it's not for: viewers expecting resolution; the film ends without a single door opening.