ONE STREET IN SILWAN

ONE STREET IN SILWAN

Director: Bissan Tibi

Producer: Anna Somershaf / Israel 2025

Production company: NA Productions

Category: Current Affairs, Human Rights

Language: Hebrew

Subtitles: English

Length: 52 minutes.

Silwan is a Palestinian village located in East Jerusalem, located just south of the Old City walls.” One Street in Silwan” is a documentary film that focuses on Batan al-Hawa street, which overlooks the Temple Mount and serves as a microcosm of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The film explores the lives of both Israeli settlers and Palestinian families who live on the same street, often in houses right next to each other. On one side of the street, live Israeli settlers in a house once belonging to an evicted Palestinian family. On the other side of the street, more than 750 Palestinian residents face potential eviction from their houses.
The film highlights the difficult realities faced by Palestinian families who are facing eviction to make way for more Israeli settlements. It is told through the perspectives of both children and adults and is intended to shed light on the complex and chaotic lives of those living on the street.

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Festivals & Awards:

 

Movie Reviews:

* « On the street in Silwan – the village in East Jerusalem that has become one of the prominent arenas for the dispossession and harassment of Palestinians by the state and the settlers – the occupation manifests in full force. Tibi's film presents the perspective of the a-Rajabi family, who, along with other residents on the street, have been struggling for years against efforts to evict them. In Tibi's film, while the characters are clearly trapped in an impossible situation, their stories never become specific or deep enough. They function too much as a "microcosm of occupation," and not enough as private, unique individuals living out lives of their own.»  Jerusalem Film Festival Reviews: The 12-year-old Palestinian Girl Who Dares to Fight Israeli Settlers - "One Street in Silwan": Through the eyes of a girl / Shany Littman / Haaretz

 

Director's Statement:
I first came to Silwan and quickly formed a bond with a young girl who later became the main protagonist of this film. That connection drew me into her street, where I got to know the people, their families, and their everyday lives. I was struck by the absurdity of the place and shocked by the violence woven into daily existence. For me, the small stories and quiet moments reveal the bigger, more complex reality better than anything else. This is not a pretentious film — it is honest and real, built on genuine connection, and unafraid to show both the beauty and the less flattering sides of the people at its heart.
Bissan Tibi

 

 

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