Ticket to Jerusalem

Jabir (Gassan Abbas of Amos Gitai's Yom Yom) is a middle aged Palestinian man who lives on the West Bank with his wife, Sana (Areen Omari) and makes his living as a freelance film exhibitor. He travels around in his old truck with an ancient projector, screening films for Palestinian audiences, often children. Despite the problems inherent in traveling through the occupied territories, and the frequent equipment breakdowns, Jabir is determined to continue his work, though even his friends question the importance of his showing movies. Sana is an emergency medical worker. Though she rides in an ambulance, she encounters many of the same problems as Jabir in navigating checkpoints manned by Israeli soldiers. A schoolteacher, Rabab (Reem Ilo) asks Jabir to screen a film for the children in her class, but they live in Jerusalem, and it is forbidden for Jabir to enter the city. Complicating matters further, the home of Rabab and her elderly mother, Um Ibrahim (Najah Abu Al-Heja), has been taken over by Israeli settlers, along with the courtyard where Jabir wants to project his films. To make matters worse, Sana is beginning to feel neglected because of Jabir's obsessive devotion to his work. Ticket to Jerusalem, written and directed by Rashid Masharawi, was shown at New Directors/New Films in 2003.