Screening: Mahmoud Darwich - As the Land is the Language

In the powerful documentary Mahmoud Darwich, Simone Bitton interviews the famed Palestinian poet about his art, life, and relationship with his homeland. Bitton explores the connection between the poet and the land of which he writes but has not been allowed to visit. His life and the development of his art is retraced, from his experience as a young man living in Jerusalem, to exile in Beirut and Tunis, where he became an active supporter of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, and finally to Paris.

It is sometimes difficult to imagine the huge popularity poets enjoy in the Arab world. From the Middle East to North Africa, poetry is considered a living art that should be performed on stage by the authors themselves. When the great Arab poet Mahmoud Darwich recites his poems in Cairo, Beirut or Algiers (or even in Paris and London), packed crowds come to mouth the verse with him.

This film traces Darwich's path of exile from Palestine, sets out to understand this popular fervor and share the emotion distilled by Darwich's words and inimitable rhythm. It not only allows the viewer to appreciate his work in its totality, but also places it in a political, historical and cultural context. Readings of Darwich's work by the poet himself are set against scenes of the Palestinian countryside and serve to highlight the way in which the land is conjured up and recreated in the verse of this highly creative and troubled artist.