'I'm not stopping when the bombs stop': British-Palestinian filmmaker Farah Nabulsi on showcasing the struggles of those living under Israeli occupation

Since first visiting Palestine in 2013, Farah Nabulsi’s mission has been to craft films that spotlight the struggles and pain of those living under Israeli occupation — and the award-winning BAFTA and Oscar-nominated director hopes that her film The Teacher will make an impact.

With a world premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, and its MENA premiere at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, The Teacher is now set for a UK and Ireland release this month. 

It will also release on Netflix in the Middle East and North Africa on October 1.

Starring renowned Palestinian actor Saleh Bakri and well-known British actress Imogen Poots, The Teacher is an amalgamation of collated stories Farah encountered and penned down while in Palestine.

This included her experiences at checkpoints, conversations with mothers who have had their teenage children taken by the Israeli military in the night, and those who have had their houses demolished.

What also stuck with Farah was the UK media's coverage of Gilad Shalit, a hostage who was traded for 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in 2011, many of whom were arrested without trial.

This “imbalance in value for human life” further inspired her to write a story “deeply rooted and representative” of Palestinian reality.

Talking about the reality on the ground in Palestine, the British-Palestinian filmmaker and human rights activist refers to a line from her first short film, Oceans of Injustice: “We think we understand the injustice… we have merely dipped our toes into the gentle tide of this colossal injustice.”

Journaling these profound words on the bus back was Farah’s way of coping with what she had witnessed.

Her original plan of bringing people to Palestine was virtually impossible to fund as an individual, so she brought Palestine to the screen, understanding that films have a widespread capacity to reach various demographics.

To make her work even more accessible, the London-born director reveals, “I'm actually super keen on even turning The Teacher into a novel.”

Responsibility to represent Palestine

As a creative, speaking about Palestine is vital, but it can also be exhausting, leaving one wishing the situation wasn’t constructed as it is presently.

“I wish that I didn't feel cold and compelled to make films I didn't have to, in the sense that this brutal, ugly reality did not exist," Farah tells The New Arab. 

"Then I could really make films that are absolutely hilarious because, personally, I think I am a super funny person.”

But at Farah’s core, she says, “I am open to potentially working on films that aren't to do with Palestine, but they will always have some meaning for me as a human being.”

In 2016 she started working in the film industry as a writer and producer of short fiction films, including Today They Took My Son, endorsed by British Director Ken Loach and screened at the United Nations. 

Her directorial debut, The Present which she also co-wrote and produced, premiered at Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival in 2020 where it won the coveted Audience Award for Best Film. The film went on to win over 50 International Film Festival Jury and Audience Awards, including a BAFTA award and scored an Oscar nomination. 

Ultimately, Palestine was always at the forefront of Farah’s mind, and writing about it was her process of “releasing the pain… there is nothing more cathartic or spiritual than to create.”

Farah conveys this by taking “what is raw pain, outrage, anger, grief” and transforming it into a beautiful “form of alchemy” that resonates with audiences.

Art imitating life

As the crew began filming, they were confronted with real-life events mirroring the story they were aiming to tell.

"In the early stages of the shoot, we got word that in the village of Burin, illegal settlers had come and had started to set fire to the trees… we weren't shooting that scene that day,” says Farah.

The experience was indescribable due to a planned scene in which settlers burn olive trees.

Farah explains the situation as “overwhelming… trying to do justice to an injustice."

She adds, "When it came time to film a scene in a separate location, another fire was set to the olive trees, which you can see in a wide shot... There's an actual fire in the background; we didn't make that fire for that shot.

“No matter how tired I'm feeling, or how overwhelmed I'm feeling, or how hard the funds were to get, it's nothing compared to this lived experience that I'm witnessing.”

Challenges of film distribution

Even though Farah is a BAFTA winner and The Teacher premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, winning 15 awards, including Best Actor, she has struggled to find a distributor.

“You would think there was a little bit of a formula there that might have enticed one good distributor,” Farah queries.

Some distributors were upfront about dealing with the “headache” of potential backlash, while others were less clear and perhaps didn’t like the narrative, leaving Farah in the dark.

But this didn’t deter her, as she decided she wasn't going to let her film sit like this.

"I decided to push forward," she says. "We managed to do what any distributor would have done, possibly even better.”

The Teacher happens to be one of the only films on Palestine shown in Vue cinema history, the other being House In Jerusalem directed by Muayad Alayan. 

'I will always look for the humanity in anyone'

Wanting to highlight the positive human condition has presented obstacles for Farah since October 7, amid an ongoing genocide in Gaza and the spread of hate.

“I will always look for the humanity in anyone. I hate labelling anyone,” Farah explains, as she tries to dissect the causality of human action.

While this has been difficult with unfathomable images released from Gaza on a daily basis, Farah clings to hope with the ICC hearing, celebrities speaking up, and Jewish groups advocating for Palestine.

“I will just continue the way I do. I didn't start my work on October 7, and I'm not stopping when the bombs stop. I don't believe that in showing Palestinian humanity, I have to dehumanise someone.”

The final thought Farah lends is her desire for her film to showcase the love for parents while also explaining the pursuit of justice and resistance to provide a missing socio-political context.

“I want people to ask themselves, is this a reality that they would accept for themselves? And if it isn't, then why should Palestinians?” she concludes. 

The Teacher is scheduled for release in the UK and Ireland on September 27. To find the nearest screening, visit the official website here

Tariq Manshi is a London-based freelance journalist. Previously, he served as the Middle East & North Africa correspondent for Bath Time Magazine and contributed as a football writer at From The Spot

Follow him on Instagram: @tarmansh