Co-written and directed by a British-Palestinian director Farah Nabulsi, ‘The Present’ is a simple yet hard hitting tale of the atrocities the Palestinians have to face at the Israeli occupied borders. This is her directorial debut.

The opening scene is live footage at checkpoint 300 which is outside Bethlehem. It beautifully sets the tone to the story.

Based on her personal experiences growing up as a Palestinian, Farah shows what it means to be ‘Without Freedom of Movement’. The right to freedom of movement is something we tend to take for granted in most parts of the world.

The story is about the daily life of a Palestinian man Yousef (played by the very talented actor Saleh Bakri) and his family that lives just outside the Israeli check-post. For every little thing including groceries he has to cross the checkpost on foot and each time face unwanted questions and abuse. His life consists of his small family; Mariam Kanj the daughter and Mariam Basha his wife. The film is about one such trip with his daughter to the grocery store across the checkpost to buy a ‘present’ for his wife on their wedding anniversary.

The film premiered at the Clement Ferrand Short Film Festival and won the audience choice awards. It has won 25 awards and 20 nominations.

The interaction between the father and daughter is emotional and will bring tears to your eyes when at a point she tells her father “There was nothing you could have done”.

The music score by Adam Benobaid is natural and emotive. The French cinematographer Benoît Chamaillard has done fantastic work on the film.

In this tense and emotional story, Farah has weaved in few moments of laughter which blend beautifully into the story. The scene where the daughter is standing behind a caged bird, says so much without saying anything.

The message Farah wants to convey to the audience is as she says in an interview, “the film shows a cruel and absurd reality!”