Sidi Omar.. A Palestinian movie that embodies the story of a detainee who spent half his life in the occupation prisons

Bethlehem

- raids on homes in the cover of darkness, arrests and investigations, embodied in the Palestinian film "Sidi Omar", which tells the true story of the sixty Palestinian prisoner Omar Saleh al-Barghouti, known to Palestinians as "Abu Asif al-Barghouti".

Al-Barghouti lived 18 years inside the prison as an administrative prisoner, meaning that he is detained without a clear charge, and with the presence of a secret security file that the occupation does not want to reveal, and that is out of the 30 years he spent in prison, and ended his life with the martyrdom of his son Saleh, to which his brother Asim responded with a commando operation in which he killed soldiers Israelis.

Palestinian violence

The film extends over 50 minutes, in which about 18 Palestinian actors and 15 technicians participated, and took pictures in Jenin, Nablus and its villages, and the Junaid prison of the Palestinian police, to simulate the Israeli detainees.

The film, whose story and script was written by Palestinian writer Walid Al-Hodali, presents the biography of a Palestinian fighter and leader, Omar Al-Barghouti, over six decades of his life as he was engaged with the occupier, half of which was captive, despite the abuse, arrest and prosecution.

The film's manifestations appear through criminal scenes practiced by the occupation on a permanent basis and known to the Palestinians well, but were documented with live scenes that affect everyone who follows them.

painful scenes

During the film, houses are raided at night, a hospital is stormed, a patient is arrested, prison scenes, and Ramadan tables that have been missed by dear and loved ones for dozens of years, and the dark corners of Palestinian life appear under the occupation that wants them to drive a herd as he wants, and a cheap labor force works to serve him.

Al-Hodli told Al-Jazeera Net, that there are 3 messages for the movie "Sidi Omar", the first for the Palestinian street, that it must be steadfast, defiant and violent in the face of the occupier.

And the second message to the occupier, which the film reminds of the consequences of injustice and aggression, and the third to the international community, which must know that the Palestinian is a victim, but with a high humanitarian spirit, according to Al-Hodli.

The writer of the story wanted the viewer to know the value of the martyrs, and the high Palestinian violence that the prisoners embodied, in the face of an enemy depicted in the film as a criminal and sadist, and how Al-Barghouti achieved victory - even morally - after his son Asim carried out an operation to avenge the blood of his brother, the martyr Saleh.

As if Omar Al-Barghouti found his freedom among his first prisons, most of which were without charges, and the last one in which he was interrogated about his son’s testimony, while his other son Asim was carrying out a commando operation, before the death of the film’s hero affected by the Corona virus.

Farah Al-Hodali, when he saw the movie’s viewers of the story’s hero in the demo, come out with tears and great sadness, as he opened for them wounds and pain, especially with the scenes of Saleh’s martyrdom, and this was mixed with their feeling of pride and pride in the ecstasy of Abu Asif’s victory.

artistic and national value

The director of the Palestinian film, Bashar Al-Najjar, says that the text of the story had a high artistic and patriotic value, and needed to be prepared under difficult production conditions, because Palestinian film production suffers from a severe shortage of resources.

It was difficult to enumerate the details of the life of a fighter for 60 years in 50 minutes, according to Al-Najjar, so the most prominent stations were chosen, as the existing details can be made into a series of at least 30 episodes.

The author of the story is a captive, the father of a martyr, and then the father of a guerrilla captive, and he sacrificed his life for his cause.

Director Al-Najjar worked on showing dramatic lines to serve the story of the film, which was filmed and edited in 30 days, with the help of Palestinian security, who provided military uniforms and weapons to convey the details of the film according to the script.

May God have mercy on you, Sir Omar.. pic.twitter.com/Qsepaalpls

— Ibraheem zhran (@ibraheemkun) March 26, 2021

pure content

In his interview with Al Jazeera Net, Al-Najjar believes that the Palestinian people are full of patriotic figures that deserve to be presented with their stories in films, series and books, especially with the systematic marginalization of the Palestinian national cause, in light of the lack of official interest in these messages that are presented in artworks.

Al-Najjar seeks to complete continuous and uninterrupted artistic works, to draw the attention of Arab and foreign satellite channels to Palestinian content, to raise the level of Palestinian drama and cinema, in light of the presence of distorted works that have nothing to do with Palestinian society.

And because this type of drama describes the pure Palestinian environment, creates awareness for the viewer, and at least helps him in creating a psychological victory over its occupiers, it was necessary to repeat such artistic and educational works, according to Al-Najjar.