Frontiers of Dreams and Fears

Mona and Manar are two Palestinian girls growing up in refugee camps: Mona is a resident of the economically marginalized Beirut refugee camp, and Manar lives in Bethlehem’s al-Dheisha camp under Israeli control. Despite overwhelming obstacles, the two girls form a friendship through letters and a dramatic meeting at the Lebanese border during the Israeli withdrawal from South Lebanon. When the Intifada suddenly erupts around them, the two girls face heart-breaking changes in their lives. 

Shot during the liberation of Southern Lebanon from Israeli occupation and at the beginning of the Palestinian intifada, Frontiers of Dreams and Fears articulates the feelings, hopes, and growing activism of a generation of young Palestinians living in exile. As in Masri’s other films, this one too focuses on the difficult plight of Palestinian children while exhibiting an optimism that defies their unbearable circumstances. This is a film about the Palestinian spirit, kids embracing life even in the face of displacement and destruction.

Mai Masri

2001

56 min

Arabic dialogue, English subtitles