LONDON PALESTINE FILM FESTIVAL
NOVEMBER 13-26, 2020

BARBICAN CINEMA ON DEMAND | LPFF Vimeo On Demand

Western Arabs
Omar Shargawi | 2019 | 77’

13 - 26 November
Barbican Cinema on Demand

Made over a period of 12 years, Western Arabs is a powerful film that documents Omar Shargawi’s attempt at understanding his family. 
Omar’s father, Munir, was forced to flee his hometown of Haifa as young boy. And now, with his Danish wife, he has three sons. The trauma of political upheaval never left him and is passing on to the next generation. Shargawi’s attempts at getting closer to his father include casting him in his films. But it is the brutal mix of aggression and intense warmth that cuts through. 
This profoundly personal family portrait is one that echoes the experiences of many refugee families, caught between cultures, expectations and lived memories that are not always shared.