Hope, Despair and Laughter: A circus project in Palestine
Directed by Ester Hertog
Synopsis
Filmed in Dheisheh refugee camp in the West bank, this film is about a circus summer-camp dedicated to bring laughter and hope for Palestinian children. Children are taught all sorts of activities such as juggling and uni-cycling, in a surrounding where the graffiti, monuments for martyrs, and the separation wall are constant reminders of the ongoing political confrontation. How is the conflict inserted into the children’s everyday reality? How is it brought into the circus by ‘real’ events, speeches and symbolic group names? How does the circus project fit in with the children’s hopes and despair?
