Shooting Muhammad - Journeyman | Tuppashare Tuppershare Tupper Share Tupashare Tupa
For 21-year-old Muhammad, being a Palestinian in an Israeli university means checkpoint after checkpoint – and never far away, the endless wall. It means no friends, no drinks after lessons and the constant threat of violence. That seems tough enough but the very act of going to university on an Israeli settlement divides him against himself. Muhammed’s challenging life spills out in this fast and vibrant narrative. Can he overcome the odds to find fame, fortune or will it just end in another wall?
Seriously Factual
Documentaries are moving online! Journeyman is one of the world's leading doc distributors and we're offering you a chance to see the best documentaries before anyone else! Every week we have fresh new titles, often direct from the cutting room. Its so easy - click on a film and watch.
Support this publisher Go
Featured
-
Full SignalJourneyman"As our obsession with mobile technology has grown, an army of antenna have cropped up: behind houses, hidden in church bell towers, even disguised as trees. This crafted documentary cracks open the debate surrounding the global health risk they pose." -
The DishJourneyman"Satellite TV is illegal in Iran but it is also the nation’s secret obsession."
-
The Two Faces Of MiamiJourneyman"A look at the impoverished, crime-ridden underbelly of this notoriously glamourous city."
Related
-
Al Awda: The ReturnJourneyman"In the refugee camps around Israel, Palestinians still live in a 50 year limbo, in poverty and without nationality."
-
Visit PalestineJourneyman"Caiomhe Butterlys definitive look at the human rights situation in Palestinian refugee camps. Working as a human shield she experiences the plight of the Palestinian people at first hand."
-
Women in BlackJourneyman"Sharon vows to hunt down bombers."
Shooting MuhammadPublisher: Journeyman
Length: 52mins
Location: Israel
Copyright: ©DIWAN FILMS
Published: 4 Jun, 2009
Last Updated: 29 Oct, 2009
Ref: 4433
Length: 52mins
Location: Israel
Copyright: ©DIWAN FILMS
Published: 4 Jun, 2009
Last Updated: 29 Oct, 2009
Ref: 4433
For 21-year-old Muhammad, being an Arab in an Israeli university means no friends, no drinks after lectures and the constant threat of violence. His experience spills out in fast beats and staccato rhymes, it’s emblazoned in graffiti across the vast Palestinian wall. He dreams of being a star as bright as the ones replacing a nationality in his passport. Will Muhammad find fame, fortune or just another wall?
It’s 60 years since Israel seized Palestine and there’s celebration in the Jewish settlement of Pisgat Ze’ev. ’We made a country from nothing!’ they cry, drinking and singing and shooting fireworks into the sky. On the other side of the wall Muhammad’s refugee camp listen in sadness. ‘I hate this prison’ Muhammad says, kicking the wall. The Israeli militia forced his father onto the small Shu’fat camp in 1967. ‘It’s not a refugee camp, it’s an Arab neighbourhood’ say the Israelis. But Muhammad and his friends have no freedom, no money and no security in their lives. ‘We’re living in a ghetto’ he says, spraying the word G-TOWN in giant letters across the wall.
‘God why am I doing this?’ Muhammad says as he begins the hour and a half long bus ride to University in Ariel. Every time the bus stops along the West Bank Road he holds his breath. ‘I’m trying not to speak Arabic’ he whispers, ‘half of my class are from Israeli settlements on this land. They hate me.’ His teacher may believe that the student body accepts the 5% of Arab students in their midst, but the students tell a different tale.
‘I don’t speak to them, not at all’ , says one student, whilst another proudly declares ‘I want to kill a Palestinian’. The walls of fear, hatred and misunderstanding are all this generation has ever known. ‘I chose the shortest, nearest and cheapest Cinema and TV course’ says Muhammad when asked why he would come to a university inside an Israeli settlement. The university itself is seen as an important step in the ‘Israelisation’ of Palestinian territories and outside of its walls, the anniversary celebrations take on a new force.
‘I was beaten and stabbed by a group of Jews whilst the police watched’ says a 15-year-old Arab boy. The Ramallah refugee camp responds with a silent portent: ‘We are launching 21,915 black balloons, one for every day since our villages were destroyed’. Each balloon has a letter from a Palestinian child attached to it, expressing their hopes and dreams, living in a world of walls.
‘My dream is to make music and movies’ says Muhammad. His father put the little he had towards an education for Muhammad but is now suffering from a fatal heart disease. ‘Life is hard for us and it’s getting harder’ says his father ‘I hope to God Muhammad will make it’. As Muhammad takes the long treacherous journey home from Ariel, to Jerusalem, black balloons fill the sky.
It’s 60 years since Israel seized Palestine and there’s celebration in the Jewish settlement of Pisgat Ze’ev. ’We made a country from nothing!’ they cry, drinking and singing and shooting fireworks into the sky. On the other side of the wall Muhammad’s refugee camp listen in sadness. ‘I hate this prison’ Muhammad says, kicking the wall. The Israeli militia forced his father onto the small Shu’fat camp in 1967. ‘It’s not a refugee camp, it’s an Arab neighbourhood’ say the Israelis. But Muhammad and his friends have no freedom, no money and no security in their lives. ‘We’re living in a ghetto’ he says, spraying the word G-TOWN in giant letters across the wall.
‘God why am I doing this?’ Muhammad says as he begins the hour and a half long bus ride to University in Ariel. Every time the bus stops along the West Bank Road he holds his breath. ‘I’m trying not to speak Arabic’ he whispers, ‘half of my class are from Israeli settlements on this land. They hate me.’ His teacher may believe that the student body accepts the 5% of Arab students in their midst, but the students tell a different tale.
‘I don’t speak to them, not at all’ , says one student, whilst another proudly declares ‘I want to kill a Palestinian’. The walls of fear, hatred and misunderstanding are all this generation has ever known. ‘I chose the shortest, nearest and cheapest Cinema and TV course’ says Muhammad when asked why he would come to a university inside an Israeli settlement. The university itself is seen as an important step in the ‘Israelisation’ of Palestinian territories and outside of its walls, the anniversary celebrations take on a new force.
‘I was beaten and stabbed by a group of Jews whilst the police watched’ says a 15-year-old Arab boy. The Ramallah refugee camp responds with a silent portent: ‘We are launching 21,915 black balloons, one for every day since our villages were destroyed’. Each balloon has a letter from a Palestinian child attached to it, expressing their hopes and dreams, living in a world of walls.
‘My dream is to make music and movies’ says Muhammad. His father put the little he had towards an education for Muhammad but is now suffering from a fatal heart disease. ‘Life is hard for us and it’s getting harder’ says his father ‘I hope to God Muhammad will make it’. As Muhammad takes the long treacherous journey home from Ariel, to Jerusalem, black balloons fill the sky.
Comments
And how do you think a Jew would feel attending a university in Syria, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia? For crying out loud, people, when are you going to stop blaming the Jews, who own 0.6% of all "arab" lands, for all the troubles in the Middle East when Muslims are blowing each other apart, raping and maiming and murdering their women, and whose "civilization" is a catastrophic disaster? Exactly as the Book of Genesis describes them, 16:12. He shall be a wild man: his hand will be against all men, and all men’s hands against him: and he shall pitch his tents over against all his brethren.
Posted: Jun 05 2009, 02:03Report AbuseDoes Daniel Pearl ring a bell, or is "political correctness" and pathetic bleeding heart liberalism's chronic sympathy for the devil still the order of the day? Can it be *ANY* clearer? Or can liberals still be so utterly BLIND?
Craig reveals himself to be the bigot he is. He throws up red herrings as excuses, as if one crime justifies another or one injustice justifies another.
Posted: Jun 05 2009, 04:49Report AbuseI can't stand it when trolls leave comments that have nothing to do with the video.
Posted: Jun 06 2009, 00:46Report AbuseMuslims are mentioned in the Bible? Or are you misinterpreting it for your own purposes?
And who prosecuted the murderers of Daniel Pearl? Pakistani Muslims. Who did Daniel Pearl's father go on a speaking tour with to promote dialogue and understanding within American Jewish and Muslim communities? A Muslim. I could go on and on.
This video shows us one human being's life and his experiences. If we can't feel anything for him, there goes our humanity, and we have more in common with the Nazis.
Craig Nim or whoever go to the heal...is it possible that your rewrited bible mentioned muslims? how it could be possible...drope your hatred and try to find out what THE HOLY CORAN says about Jews and Christins....exactly what they are! your blinded with misconceptions and stériotypes of CNN...
Posted: Jun 10 2009, 12:06Report AbuseThoses u're talking about are human beings like you, exactly like you! who decided that you're like you are now....it's you? those people chose their lives...neither you nore them did...so take it easy and try to know what is your goal in this life and after...perhaps you're laughing at theim, thinking that you're so right and your bible is so...but give you a chance, learn more about islam and muslims before it's late....
Here, learn something about Islam yourself:
Posted: Jun 23 2009, 00:53Report Abusehttp://www.terrorismawareness.org/videos/108/the-violent-oppression-of-women-in-islam/
http://www.terrorismawareness.org/what-really-happened/
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-871902797772997781
That should be a good primer as to the ultimate aim of Islam, or have you missed the crackdown in Tehran lately?
I was watching this and it broke my heart as a Jew. I live in America, which may sway my view, yet this still makes me terribly sad, since it only shows the perpetual continuance of hatred, bigotry, and closed mindedness.
Posted: Dec 26 2009, 07:33Report Abuse