Jordan’s 2021 submission to the Academy Awards is 200 Meters, a movie about Mustafa (Ali Suliman) and his family who live on opposite sides of the Israeli-Palestinian border wall. Mustafa lives in the Palestinian town of Tulkarm while his wife, Salwa and children have secured residency permits to live in Israel. Each night, Mustafa calls his kids from his balcony and flashes the light outside his house so they can see him across the wall. Occasionally, Mustafa gets short work permits to cross into Israel, allowing him to visit his family. 

Life in Israel isn’t easy: his son, Majd, is bullied at school and Salwa works multiple jobs to provide for the family. One day, when Mustafa attempts to cross a checkpoint for work, he discovers his ID card is expired. The border guard proceeds to revoke Mustafa’s work permit, forcing him to return to Palestine and jeopardizing his construction job. While Mustafa is stuck without a valid ID, his son is admitted to hospital and Mustafa must find a way to cross the wall by other means. Along the way, Mustafa meets Rami and Kifah, Palestinians who are also trying to cross illicitly, and Anne, a German filmmaker.

200 Meters is a  suspenseful movie that is well-worth the watch. It captures the complexity of Mustafa’s position as a Palestinian man, fluent in English and Hebrew, with a family living in Israel. The movie begins primarily in Arabic but has extended scenes in Hebrew and English in the second half. English subtitles are  available.

200 Meters is not currently streamable in the US but we'll update this post with information on where to watch the movie when it becomes available. If you're interested in watching another movie starring Ali Suliman in the meantime, we recommend Pomegranates and Myrrh by Najwa Najjar.

Vocabulary / مفردات

2:20
تصريح
Permit

3:12
تدلل
To spoil/pamper

4:20
مخيم صيفي
Summer camp

5:58
حاجز
Checkpoint

9:39
روحو على تختكم
Go to your beds!

11:58
فريق
Team

12:17
ممكن تحكي معه قبل ما بقرر عنه
Maybe talk with him before you decide for him

12:35
مفتاح
Key

20:26
خرافات
Superstitions

21:25
كاشين امناح
Good money (cash)

22:27
طوشة
A (physical) fight

29:35
لمبلغ خياني
The price is outrageous
Literal translation: The price is treasonous

30:38
مهاجر
Smuggler

33:27
إقامة
Residency

34:15
ركب / ركاب
Passenger/s
ركب also means “to ride” as in, “to ride the bus"

38:53
مخرج/ة
Director

39:56
مستوطنين
Settlers

46:16
!غني غني
Sing, sing!

47:58
عنزة
Goat
خروف
Sheep

49:53
بدك تنط على الجدار؟
Do you want to jump over the wall?

1:03:27
هويات
IDs

1:09:11
ليش بخاطرك حالك؟
Why are you taking this risk?

1:30:42
شايفيني؟
Do you see me?