The Producers

Mohanad Yaqubi - Director

Mohanad Yaqubi is a filmmaker, producer, and one of the founders of the Ramallah-based production house, Idioms Film. Yaqubi is one of the founders of the research and curatorial collective Subversive Films that focuses on militant film practices, also, a founding member of the Palestine Film Institute, that focus on supporting, promoting, and preserving Palestinian cinema. He is a resident researcher at The School of the Art (KASK) in Gent, Belgium since 2017.

Yaqubi's first feature film Off Frame AKA Revolution Until Victory (2016) made its premiere at TIFF, Berlindale, Cinéma du réel, Dubai IFF, and Yamagatea among fifty other premiers and screenings around the world.

Making The Film

Directors' Statement
The word "archive" is usually referred to as a building that holds documents, and according to Achille Mbembe, this "archive" status and power is derived from this entanglement of building and documents. In the Palestinian case, the building of an archive does not exist, since the land of Palestine is under occupation, and the documents of the Palestinians are scattered all around the globe. So, when we say that this film is an archive, we suggest its narrative structure as a "building" that holds a collection of films, of documents.

The film serves as an inventory of the 20 reels, one where all the filmographic information can be found in the credits, and where the archive's visitors are invited to observe the reoccurring cinematic and political patterns within. The film's chronological order invites independent readings by the viewer, while the narration helps to explore the motives of the Palestine solidarity group.

The film is a homage to the Japanese solidarity group that collected and screened these films around Japan, in classes, in political settings, touring cinemas, and community centers. It is also a thank you letter, from Palestinian filmmakers to their Japanese counterparts, for keeping these films safe, and for telling a story of people's struggle imprinted not only on celluloid, but on the consciousness of a generation.