Plot Summary:OR THE FIRST TIME I HEARD OF ISRAEL. A man recollects the conflict in the middle east through his personal memory. In this short documentary, Amiralay reflects on the first time he heard of Israel. Through recorded conversations with filmmaker Mohamed Malas, both Amiralay and Malas share their own unique stories and experiences about Israel and Israeli occupation. In the company of fellow Syrian filmmaker Mohammad Malas, the ground-breaking director Omar Amiralay revisits the ruins of the destroyed Golan village of Quneytra, occupied by Israel and then abandoned following the 1973 war.
Here’s a great short from Syria’s finest – the auteur, provocateur, and master, Omar Amiralay. Perhaps this is an aficionado’s grab, or a completist’s – but it is really a cracking film, with Mohammad Malas involved and plenty of inter-textual references for those familiar with Syrian political cinema.