Palestinian filmmaker Elia Suleiman streams all his films for free

Photo by JALAL MORCHIDI/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock (10491892ad)

Here’s 10 great Palestinian films to watch right now (for free), Esquire reports.

One of the greatest filmmakers in Arab history will be putting all of his films online for 10 days.

The Arab Film & Media Institute will be holding an Elia Suleiman Film retrospective of the legendary avant-garde Palestinian writer and director, with all four of his films streaming in Video-On-Demand style from 21 to 30 May.

That means that every acclaimed film, including Chronicle of a Disappearance (1996), Divine Intervention (2002), The Time That Remains (2008) and It Must Be Heaven (2019) will be available to watch.

Here’s the best part: It’s for free.

On 23 May, the director himself will be in a live talkback as well, with tickets available online.

Register for both here.


Divine Intervention (2002)

Divine Intervention (2002) is perhaps his best known film, a dark comedy about living under occupation in Palestine. The film won the Jury Prize at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival.

Suleiman’s style is similar to French director Jacques Tati and Buster Keaton, with an emphasis on visual humor and physicality.

If you want to explore more of Palestinian cinema, here’s Esquire‘s list of 10 great films to watch available for free online.

It Must Be Heaven is released in cinemas on 18 June 2021 in the UK.

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