Journey of a Freedom Fighter

The film opens with a young man loading a rifle against a backdrop of arid Palestinian countryside. He says that he loves freedom. A mobile phone rings. I wonder whether it belongs to the film or to someone in the room I am in.

I am watching the film in a "pop-up pub" in Great Britain with about 20 other people. Immediately before the screening we have had a question and answer session with a member of the Freedom Theatre, live from Palestine, by video, via Skype. After the call was over and we could no longer hear the voice of our Palestinian contact, we continued to hear sounds produced by Skype itself.

The man on screen reaches for his pocket and answers a call; It turns out that the ring-tone was on film. My experience of the first 15 seconds of the film is a metaphor for the entire film in that it shows that the life of a freedom fighter in Palestine is in many ways like my own life.

The man (Rabea Turkman) travels in a four-wheel-drive vehicle. Large numbers of young men troop across the screen. Some carry Palestinian and other flags. Many are armed with rifles; some fire shots into the air. We are told that in 2002 the Israeli army invaded Jenin refugee camp in Palestine.

A theatre teacher addresses his students in Arabic. Turkman speaks to camera. He says he used to fight Israel, that the 2007 ceasefire agreement required Palestinian freedom fighters to give up arms and that they complied.

We are shown a hiding place once used by the freedom fighters. Turkman tells us that Israeli soldiers surrounded his house at night, that he emerged from the house, that the soldiers shot him, that due to poor visibility they were unsure whether or not they had shot him, that he was at first able to walk away but was then in such pain that he was able to only crawl away and that his sister also came out of the house.

We cut to a grave-yard and grieving Palestinians. Turkman tells us that his sister was shot with 20 bullets and that he saw her body at the morgue only after he was discharged from hospital the following day.

We cut to a session of "drama therapy" at the drama school. A young woman plays the part of Turkman's sister. "Please live", he urges her.

Turkman visits his family. His mother tells us that all families have suffered imprisonment and had "martyrs". She says Turkman's father was opposed to his taking up arms in the first place and opposed to armed conflict but she, on the other hand, was opposed to his giving up his weapons and taking up acting instead.

To my surprise the name "Jones" appears in the subtitles. It turns out that the Freedom Theatre company is performing "Animal Farm" in a small auditorium that is full of enthusiastic families. I studied the book at school and Jones was the most common surname in the district.

Turkman is interviewed. He tells us that part of the deal reached with the Palestine Liberation Organization was that, if freedom fighters gave up their weapons and spent enough time at the headquarters building of the Palestine Authority, they would be granted an amnesty so that they would be free to do things including travelling to other parts of the country and even to other countries. He says that he and others fulfilled their part of the bargain but that they were still waiting, for over a year more than expected, to receive their amnesties. In the meantime, they had to be at the headquarters every night between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. He was sick.

A theatre instructor speaks about challenging the situation. He encourages his students to "Feel tears and work with it."

The company performs "Men in the Sun". Turkman says that resistance is innate within him and that this play is a kind of resistance.

In the Palestine Authority building at night other young men mock Turkman for taking up acting. They say that he loves life, accuse him of giving up on freedom and assert that he cannot love both life and freedom. He disagrees with them.

The Freedom Theatre students tour Germany with their production of "What Else?" Turkman is interviewed in English. The entire film so far has been in Arabic with subtitles in English; for a minute or so the languages are reversed. Turkman is asked about the meaning of "revolution through art". He responds that "No-one died" when they staged a play. He says he is under occupation and that he wants himself, his country and his brothers to be free.

The film does not end there but, to avoid revealing the ending, this review does.