Born and raised in Brooklyn, 28-year-old Soraya decides to travel for the first time to the land her relatives were forced to leave behind in 1948: Palestine. She is blooming with confidence upon her arrival, but the local Palestinian reality gradually begins to catch up with her. Her attempt to recover her grandparents’ frozen assets in Ramallah is rejected by the bank authorities. She then crosses paths with Emad, a young Palestinian. Unlike Soraya, who dreams of settling down in Palestine, Emad, who has only known life under occupation, wants nothing more than to leave. They both find the current conditions unacceptable. Together Soraya and Emad spontaneously set out on a journey to unfamiliar parts of Palestine and Israel.
Annemarie Jacir has already attracted critical attention thanks to her short films. In SALT OF THIS SEA, her first feature-length film, she invites us on a wild ride through a region essentially barred to her protagonists, where freedom appears to be a foreign concept. Her road movie provides a rare look at the Palestinian landscape, and gives us an opportunity to explore the history of Jacir’s homeland. The film is atmospherically rich and touching. Where the world cannot seem to find the right words, Annemarie Jacir supplies profound images that express humanity’s deep longing for freedom. (trigon film)
