speaking from the I eye #2

In this intimate slice-of-life documentary, Palestinian-Australian filmmaker Sherine Salama follows Bassam Abed, a man who has returned from the USA to his hometown of Ramallah to seek an arranged marriage. There we meet Mariam, his bride, and both of their families. The film zooms in on the domestic sphere, showing the developing rapport between Mariam and her sister-in-law Senora, both waiting to join their husbands abroad. While the film is centred on the family, the political reality of Israel’s occupation underpins their daily lives. We see the Second Intifada unfolding outside the car window, and learn that Bassam lives in exile due to his suspected militancy. A Wedding in Ramallah is the story of the struggle for the ordinary in extraordinary circumstances, and the time of waiting. The time of waiting for a visa to the USA, the time of waiting to cross Israeli checkpoints, and the time of waiting for a life in which one has full power and sovereignty in one’s own land.

Marah Haj Hussein responds.

Sherine Salama is an award-winning Palestinian-Australian documentary filmmaker and journalist. Originally from Jerusalem, she was born in Cairo, Egypt, and moved to Australia when she was 3 years old. Her work focuses on refugee experiences, creating unique and intimate pictures of peoples' lives, informed by her own experience. She is a recipient of the United Nations Media Peace Prize, and has been a finalist for the Amnesty International Media Award. She has worked for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and her films have been screened at Cinéma du Réel, Hot Docs - Canadian International Documentary Festival, Melbourne International Film Festival, Sheffield International Documentary Festival, Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, and other festivals around the world.

Marah Haj Hussein (b.1998) is a dancer, actress and maker from Kofor Yassif in occupied Palestine. She is currently based in Antwerp, where she graduated in 2021 with a Bachelor of Dance at the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp. She completed a master's degree in Drama at KASK in Ghent in 2023. By merging these two disciplines, Marah challenges the delineation that separates text from movement, while simultaneously searching for possible ways to allow both into the performative space. In her work, Marah investigates the concept and definition of mother tongues while exploring the power dynamics between languages. In 2023, she won the Roel Verniers Prize by Het TheaterFestival for her solo performance Language: no broblem.