Every so often, the image goes black. Not to shield viewers from the violence of Israeli settler militias—such as in a pen in the West Bank where young men with covered faces beat a Palestinian shepherd’s sheep to death in a matter of moments—but because danger is already coming from another direction. Turn around, and behind you a bulldozer is tearing down the walls of a Palestinian family’s home. The destruction of Palestinian homes and communities is everywhere. This documentary VR experience presents the destruction unfiltered, weaving 360° footage with security-camera shots and smartphone videos. The film centers on three protagonists, following them over a period of three years.
Their constant displacement is a recurring theme running through the documentary, but so too is their determination to resist and hold their ground. After his home is demolished yet again, a father decides to move his family into a cave. A young woman channels her fear and grief into a powerful poem, which she recites in voice-over. When her family is once again driven from their home, she leaves her message written on the walls: “We shall return.”
Stills
