Synopsis
Straddling documentary and filmed autobiography, this deceptively tranquil film portrays the family of filmmaker Kamal Aljafari in Ramla and Jaffa, through the calm yet unceasing movements of a camera drifting through the rooms of abandoned, damaged, or ruined houses. The title refers to the missing roof of the house where the director’s family settled in 1948—a home left unfinished, a construction project suspended in time…
A word from Tënk
Palestinian filmmaker Kamal Aljafari returns to his roots to the streets of Jaffa and Ramla in the first part of what will become a trilogy. The title refers to the roof missing from the second floor of his family home, and the film explores the state of limbo following the Palestinian exodus, and the strain of trying to reclaim a place in modern history. This autobiographical tale is conveyed through details of daily life, steeped in a strikingly gentle atmosphere, yet harbouring a more brutal reality.
Pascale Paulat and Christophe Postic
Artistic co-directors of the
États généraux du documentaire in Lussas
