Origin: United Arab Emirates | Documentary | Director: Bilal Yousef | 47 minutes

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Back to one's roots

Just as their form of Islam is often shrouded in mystery, the political and
cultural life of the Druze in Israel today is frequently ignored or only
vaguely understood. Most know that the Druze are Palestinian Muslims who
serve in the Israeli army. Yet little is heard of the divisions amongst the
Druze this has engendered, or the resistance that has been mounted to
Zionism by Druze. Bilal Yousef's Back to One's Roots is an eloquent doc
that works to demystify and challenge perceptions of Druze political life
in Israel. It tells the story of Yaman, a Druze citizen who grew up in the
north of Israel. Yaman's dream of joining a Special Forces Unit is
shattered upon the death of his two brothers as they serve in the army.
When he nonetheless insists on joining the army, he is dispatched to work
in an Israeli prison holding Palestinian and Arab activists. Contact with
these political prisoners leads him to reevaluate his relationship with the
Israeli army and reflect on his identity as a Palestinian Druze.