77 STEPS, A DOCUMENTARY BY IBTISAM MARA'ANA
77 Steps 77 درجه
A Documentary Film by Ibtisam Mara'ana
The personal journey of the director who leaves her Arab-Muslim village and moves to Tel-Aviv. In an attempt to find an apartment in the city, she encounters discrimination and rejection by most landlords because of her Arab origins. She finally finds an apartment, and meets her neighbor – Jonathan, a Jewish-Canadian man who immigrated to Israel. A love story evolves.
Shortly after Ibtisam joins a left-wing political party (Meretz) and runs for the Knesset, Israel invades Gaza. Hundreds are killed. Ibtisam resigns from her party because of its support of the war. Ibtisam struggles over her Palestinian identity in the shadow of war and hatred, but does not relinquish her relationship with Jonathan. Yet something has gone sour.
Jonathan‘s family refuses to meet his girlfriend. Jonathan says: “They can’t forgo their image of their future daughter-in-law - Jewish, white and English-speaking”. Ibtisam is also unable to reveal her relationship to her mother and keeps it a secret.
When Jonathan’s grandfather comes from Canada on a nostalgic trip to Kibbutz Ein-Dor, which he helped found in 1948, Ibtisam and Jonathan join him. It becomes an individual journey for each one of them – one that takes them backwards in time and forward into the unknown, to memories and dreams, Nakba and independence,Love and hate , longing and loss. After this journey nothing can be the way it was before. There is no turning back.
TRAILER
CREDITS
Director: Ibtisam Salh Mara'ana
Producer: Ibtisam Salh Mara'ana - Ibtisam Films
Editor: Miri Laufer , Halil Efrat
Additional Editor : Erez Laufer
Cinematographer: Ibtisam Salh Mara'ana & shahar Reznik
Original Score: Avi Balleli
