Origin: Unknown | Documentary | Director: Tone Andersen | 25 minutes

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My Land

Tone Andersen 2005 docu 25 min.

In the northern Galilee, Ali and Therese are not allowed to build a house
on their own land. They take up the fight with the surrounding community of
Misgav, whilst living in a house under a constant threat of demolition.
Despite fines and prison terms, they are refusing to give up, hoping they
will eventually be able to live in their house legally. My Land tells one
of the stories from within Israel that rarely reach the attention of the
mainstream media. While there are aggressive government sponsored campaigns
and financial incentives used to persuade Jewish Israelis to settle in the
Galilee, residents of pre existing Arab towns struggle to get planning
permission in their own lands. My Land exposes the plight of that 20% of
the Israeli population who are Palestinian Arabs. Being Israeli by
citizenship, Palestinian by nationality and Arab by ethnicity, they are
seen as suspect in some Arab countries and yet are treated as an internal
enemy by the state of Israel.

Andersen stayed in Palestine for 5 years and in 2004 she directed the short documentary My Land – a story about Palestinians in Israel, who address the challenges for Palestinian residents of Israel. Andersen also contributed as a photographer on Line Halvorsen's further projects, the award-winning documentary film USA v Al-Arian (2007) and Living Without Money (2010). She has also worked on many international projects and often filmed in conflict-ridden areas such as Bosnia, Serbia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Congo and Iraq.