AHED'S KNEE

Y (Avshalom Pollak), an Israeli filmmaker in his mid-forties, travels to a remote village in the Arava desert to present one of his films. He is received by Yahalom (Nur Fibak), an official from the Ministry of Culture, who presents him with a form: at the audience discussion he may only speak about state-approved subjects. Y, who is currently preparing a project about the Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi, finds himself fighting on two fronts – against the dwindling freedom in his country and against his mother’s approaching death. “Ahed’s Knee” by Nadav Lapid, a co-production between Israel, France and Germany from 2021, condenses a single day into a reckoning.

Lapid has called the film loosely autobiographical; it is about the pressure on artists to avoid uncomfortable subjects. Its form is as restless as its protagonist: a camera that tears itself free, monologues that tip into rage. It premiered in competition at Cannes 2021, where “Ahed’s Knee” won the Jury Prize, shared with Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s “Memoria”. The film was shown at Around the World in 14 Films in Berlin in 2021.

Shown at the 2021 edition of Around the World in 14 Films.

All films 2021 · Film Archive