Cherien Dabis Discusses The Challenges Of Writing, Filming, And Distributing A Palestinian Movie

For Cherien Dabis, it all comes back to 1948. Her latest film All That's Left of You takes place primarily across three different decades, with a brief visit to a fourth at the end, but for her, this story couldn't be told without depicting the events of the Nakba, the mass expulsion of Palestinians in which they lost their homes and land, the basis of the ongoing fight for self-determination.

All That's Left of You, which Dabis produced, wrote, directed, and starred in, spends time in 1948, 1978, 1988, and 2022 as it follows three different generations of one Palestinian family as history happens to them. Zionists bomb them and drive them out of Yaffa; Israeli soldiers stop and harass a father and son; a teen joins a protest in the streets. None of these acts of violence are shown in particularly lurid ways. Instead, Dabis focuses on how it shapes the lives and outlooks of her characters, played by herself, the late Mohammad Bakri, and two of his sons, actors Saleh and Adam Bakri.

Earlier this month, I spoke with Dabis about the difficulties of filming and selling All That's Left of You, the balance of education versus entertainment in producing a film based on history, and the level of detail within the production design. Our conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.