Egypt Diary-3: Film ‘The Teacher’ Is Cinematic Document Of Human Stories Amidst Israel-Hamas War

Egypt Diary-3: British female filmmaker of Palestinian origin Farah Nabulsi’s first film ‘The Teacher’ is in discussion all over the world these days. Israeli actor Saleh Bakri, who plays the role of a teacher in this, has attracted everyone’s attention with his tremendous acting. He is the son of famous actor Mohammad Bakri. The film brings to the fore many heartbreaking human stories amidst the Israel-Hamas war.

Egypt’s Al Gouna Film Festival

Egypt’s Al Gouna Film Festival has organized a special section called ‘Window to Palestine’. In this section, about ten such films and documentaries are being shown which present the cause of Palestine in front of the world. The most talked about film of this section is the debut film of British female director of Palestinian origin Farah Nabulsi – ‘The Teacher’ which recently received two awards at the 3rd Red Sea International Film Festival held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. This has been done for Israel’s advocacy and support towards Palestinian citizens in the Hamas war. Due to this war, this film festival has been postponed twice. The Christian industrialist brothers (Samir and Naguib Sawiris), who organize the Al Gouna Film Festival, have recently provided humanitarian aid worth five billion Egyptian pounds to Gaza.

Heart-touching story of a Palestinian school teacher

Many issues are mixed together in this heart-touching story of a Palestinian school teacher, Bassem Al Saleh (Saleh Bakri). In it, the teacher’s own memories are mixed with the collective suffering of Palestinians living under the guns of the Israeli army in the West Bank. Her life begins to fall apart when her own son is jailed for eight years in an accident. And his wife, saddened by this incident, leaves the house forever. One night, due to lack of immediate treatment, his ten-year-old son dies in jail. The teacher is doing his work honestly day and night, carrying the guilt of not being able to save his son. He gradually begins to see images of his son in his two students, Adam and Jacob. One afternoon, an Israeli army unit bulldozes Jacob’s house during a search. This makes Yakub a rebel. One day suddenly in a minor quarrel a Jew shoots him in front of everyone. There is a murder case against him but it is all a drama. The murderer is acquitted.

Also Read: Egypt Diary-4: Unveiling Coal Mines World And Aspirations For Change In Hindi Film ‘Whispers Of Fire And Water’

Here’s Story in brief

The teacher brings Adam to his home who spends day and night thinking of avenging Yakub’s murder. A kind of father-son relationship begins to form between the teacher and Adam. On the other hand, the only son of an American diplomat has been held captive by a Palestinian rebel group for three years and his helpless parents are pleading with the Israeli authorities to free him. His son is a commander in the Israeli army. In return, Israel is demanded to release about one thousand Palestinian prisoners. Israel is hesitant in fulfilling this demand because once the demand is accepted, the Palestinian rebel group will be encouraged to repeatedly kidnap Israelis. One night they bring the hostage to the teacher’s house and hide him in the basement. After America’s intervention, the Israeli army is conducting door-to-door raids in the area in search of the hostage.

Lisa, a British social worker, comes in contact with the teacher and falls in love with him. Both of them share a lot in their beautiful moments and read poems of the famous Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish under the shadow of terror and awe. But the teacher knows that at the stage of his life, he cannot love and marry anymore. He also tells Liza that since he could neither keep his wife happy nor save his son, he cannot ruin another life. Liza continues to try unsuccessfully to free the teacher from his guilt. On the other hand, news comes that Israel has agreed to release one thousand Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the American commander. Meanwhile, Adam writes a note on the table and sets out to kill the Jew who shot his brother Jacob. The teacher feels that he could not save his son but Adam will have to be saved. Just as Adam is about to attack the Jew with a knife, suddenly the teacher shoots him and tells Adam to run away. The teacher surrenders before the police and goes to jail.