The Present (الهدية) is a 24-minute film co-written by Farah Nabulsi and Hind Shoufani and is directed by Nabulsi. The movie is a nuanced depiction of daily inconveniences and the cumulative stresses of life under occupation. The dialogue is sparse and the plot of the movie is simple: Yusef (Saleh Bakri) and his daughter, Yasmine (Miriam Kanj) are going to pick up an anniversary present for Yusef’s wife. But there’s a checkpoint between the family’s home and the store, which complicates their errand. 

Checkpoints loom over the whole movie. In the opening scene, Yusef slowly moves through a very crowded checkpoint on his way between work and home. This scene was recorded at an actual checkpoint with real people passing through; the only actor in the scene is Bakri. 

The next day, Yusef and Yasmine wait at another checkpoint for what feels like hours. The camera wanders, focusing in on various details of the place. People shift position, looking more exhausted as time passes. Snippets of conversation in Arabic, English, and Hebrew filter in. It’s both monotonous and unsettling as Yusef and Yasmine inch their way closer to the Israeli soldiers.

The last scene of the movie also takes place at the checkpoint. There are no other people, just Yusef, Yasmine, and the soldiers. All the stresses of the day have built up to the movie’s tense but strangely sweet ending. Afterwards, we’re left with the uneasy feeling that they’re going to have to do this all over again tomorrow.

The Present by Farah Nabulsi is available on Netflix.

Vocabulary / مفردات

21:22
ظهر
Back (as in the body part)

20:57
ولك
This word doesn’t have a direct translation but is similar to “I’m serious” or “right now.” It prefaces and emphasizes a command, for example:
يلا ولك قومي
Let’s go, get up (now!)

19:58
هدية
Gift or present

17:54
مافي حدا غيرك
There’s no one but you; you’re the only one

12:48
ما كان بيدك
There was nothing you could do; it was out of your control
Literal translation: it wasn’t in your hand

10:15
تلاجة
Fridge

9:08
ولاد الكلب
Bastards
Literal translation: children or sons of a dog