Experiencing Interruptions?

Far from Maine

"A gut punch film... one of the best about [Israel-Palestine]" - Unseen Films

"A documentary that refuses the audience the comfort of taking the “right” position and being done with it." - Eye for Film

Haunted by the killing by Israeli police of a Palestinian friend from his youth, an Israeli filmmaker embarks on a cinematic dialogue across time — confronting memory, friendship, and the genocide unfolding today.

In this intimate cinematic letter, Israeli filmmaker Roy Cohen addresses his Palestinian friend and fellow peace activist Aseel Aslih, who was murdered by Israeli police in their youth. Cohen tells Aslih of his experiences navigating a growingly genocidal society and seeks Aslih’s moral clarity and resilience in the evocative letters he had written as a teenager.

Far from Maine had its world premiere at IFFR Rotterdam in 2026. It is produced by Serge Gordey ("Five Broken Cameras") .

Far from Maine is an international co-production that has never accepted any Israeli (or other Middle Eastern) investment, public or private.

  • Roy Cohen
    Director
    Machine of Human Dreams
  • Serge Gordey
    Producer
    Five Broken Cameras
  • Anne Svejgård Lund
    Producer
    Machine of Human Dreams
  • Claudio Esposito
    Producer
    Fallen Houses
  • Sára László
    Producer
    The Hungarian Dressmaker
  • Nicolas Wadimoff
    Producer
    Who Is Still Alive
  • Christian Aune Falch
    Producer
    Portrait of a Confused Father
  • Torstein Parelius
    Producer
    Portrait of a Confused Father
  • Leandro Monti
    Cinematography
    Who Is Still Alive
  • Valentina Cicogna
    Editing
    The Disappearance of My Mother
  • Roy Cohen
    Key Cast
  • Tobias Samuel Stein
    Key Cast
  • Alia Viviane Stein Cohen
    Key Cast
  • Haifa Staiti
    Key Cast
  • Yousef Bashir
    Key Cast
  • Shurouq Swaiti
    Key Cast
  • Nathalie Bloch
    Key Cast
  • Galit Nir
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 39 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    September 10, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    600,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Denmark, France, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Switzerland
  • Country of Filming:
    Israel, Palestine, State of, United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    4K
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.85:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
  • International Film Festival Rotterdam
    Rotterdam
    Netherlands
    January 31, 2026
    World Premiere
    Harbour
  • Docs Pordenone
    Pordenone
    Italy
    April 15, 2026
Director Biography - Roy Cohen

Roy Cohen (1984, Israel) is a filmmaker, writer and activist based in Tel Aviv. A Film Independent and Dok.Incubator fellow, he is the recipient of the Clayton-Goldrich Award. His previous film, "Machine of Human Dreams", premiered at CPH:DOX and DOC NYC. Roy writes regularly for 972, an Israeli-Palestinian online publication. He has been published in The Guardian, Freitag and The Montreal Review. He has organized protests in Israel-Palestine against Israeli apartheid and the genocide in Gaza and against Israeli media's enabling of war crimes, among others.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

In this film, I am trying to express the feelings and thoughts that I have towards Israeli society and the possibility of a future here as an activist against the occupation and as a queer Israeli man of Arab-Jewish descent.

My personal journey goes through a peace camp in Maine, where I met Palestinians like Aseel Aslih. That experience made me realize that I could only know the truth by understanding perspectives that are silenced in my society. This lesson has never been so important as in this time of genocide.

I have felt helplessness in the face of my country's brutality towards Palestinians, like I had when Aseel was shot to death by Israeli police in 2000. This film has been the process of discovering what meaningful action could mean for me. And I have no doubt that Aseel inspired it. In the last 25 years, I have constantly talked to him in my head.

In speaking with Aseel in the film, I am bringing back his voice, which may inspire others to find ways to be active, resilient and at times hopeful about the future in Israel-Palestine and in their own part of the world, troubled and oppressed as it may be.