Palestine: Memories of 1948 brings together the stories of 19 survivors, weaving their individual testimonies into a compelling narrative which retraces the effects of this historic cataclysm and explores different strategies for survival and ways that they continue to make their presence felt. It is a moving testimony to survival and hope.
Seventy-one years ago, in 1948, the Nakba--the "catastrophe"--overturned life in Palestine, forcing three-quarters of Palestinians into exile, depriving them of their land, their homes, their belongings. Today, those who can bear witness to that period are becoming rare. From different social backgrounds, 19 men and women remember the coexistence that prevailed in Palestine, the war, the exile, as well as the strength and resilience which they had to muster to adapt to new realities. Life stories expressed in the first person are accompanied by black and white portraits where each look questions the coming generations. For every Palestinian, Jerusalem is charged with symbolic meaning, of identity and of remembrance, the more so because it has become inaccessible to most. The city is made the focus of a compilation of color photographs presented for a contemporary look, between shadow and light.
