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Cinema Al-Amal

A nostalgic journey of reflection and rediscovery, where Mufeed revisits the abandoned cinema that was once full of life when he worked there forty years ago, reflecting on a lifetime spent bringing movies back to life.

مشغل الأفلام المتقاعد يعود إلى سينماه المهجورة منذ فترة طويلة، حيث تتلاقى ذكريات عصر مضى وسحر السينما في رحلة نوستالجيا من التأمل والاكتشاف مجددًا

  • Rana Abushkhaidem
    Director
    El-Halabiyeh, Wadi Foquin 2021- Dier Hanna 1981
  • Ibrahim Handal
    Cinamtography
    Ambience, Him & I, Bethlehem 2001
  • Hind Abushkhadim
    Producer
    El-Halabiyeh
  • Mufid El-Helu
    Key Cast
    "himself"
  • Saed Andoni
    Supervisor
  • Shahd Saadeh
    Editing Assistant
    Mustafa Muhtaseb: Hebron's Lost Voice
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    سينما الأمل
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short, Student
  • Runtime:
    11 minutes 24 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    July 1, 2024
  • Country of Origin:
    Palestine, State of
  • Country of Filming:
    Palestine, State of
  • Language:
    Arabic
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Dar Al-Kalima University
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
  • Dublin Independent Film Festival
    Dublin
    Ireland
    August 28, 2025
    Irish premiere
    Best Short Documentary Award
  • Toronto Arab Film Festival
    Toronto
    Canada
    June 28, 2025
    North American Premiere
    Al-Yamama Audience Choice Award for best short film,
  • Alexandria Short Film Festival
    Alexandria
    Egypt
    April 30, 2025
    World Premiere
    Official Selection
Distribution Information
  • Hind Abushkhadim
    Distributor
    Country: Palestine, State of
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Rana Abushkhaidem

Rana Abushkhaidem is a Palestinian director with a passion for visual arts, archives, and anthropology. She holds an MA in Creative Practice from Atlantic Technological University in Galway, Ireland, and a BA in Film Production from Dar Al-Kalima University. Through her practice, Rana continues to explore storytelling at the intersection of film, animation, and archival research.
Rana has directed three short documentaries: Cinema Al Amal (2024), currently being screened at international film festivals; Wadi Foquin 2021–Deir Hanna 1981 (2021), featured in the opening screening of Festival Cine-Palestine Paris in 2023; and El-Halabiyeh (2021), which won the Audience Award at the Davis Feminist Film Festival in 2023.
Beyond filmmaking, Rana is actively involved in community-based projects. She is a founding member of the Palestinian Production Directory and has worked as an audio-visual content creator for the Palestinian Museum (2022–2023). She also contributes to the Oral History Project with the Cultural Symposium Club in Hebron.

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Director Statement

Cinema is my tool of resistance against a colonial occupation that thrives on the erasure of Palestinian identity and cultural theft. Owning our stories and making our voices heard is one of the most rebellious acts a Palestinian can undertake. At the same time, I see my work as a means to heal my community collectively. We need brave and fearless voices to stand up to our oppressors, just as we need gentle and warm voices for ourselves — people who have suffered loss in every form deserve space to breathe, to grieve, and to process the ongoing trauma.

In my cinematic work, I explore the beauty of the everyday lives of the Palestinian people, uncovering the hidden treasures of our past in order to gain a better understanding of our present lives. In my films, I investigate the reasons behind our collective loss, highlighting both the positive and negative milestones of our shared history. By reflecting personal experiences of individuals, I seek to tell stories that resonate on a broader, collective level.

My films are a mix of different genres and media: documentary, docudrama (re-enacted scenes of true events), experimental film, video art, archival footage, and, more recently, animation. By blending these forms, I create a cinematic language that captures the complexity of our history, the resilience of our people, and the depth of our emotions.