In Development
To Make Things Grow
Feature length creative documentary and more
Deir Amr was a visionary Palestinian farming school, run by my grandfather and built through crowd-funding in the 1940s to support children orphaned during the revolt against British occupation. Though expelled in 1948, the orphanages' unique archives offer a rare glimpse into post-mandate Palestine. Official archives and personal memories entwine to reveal the reverberations of empire, and to trace how land, family and community ripple through time into our complex present.
Here is a great article about the orphanage on Jerusalem Story - Deir Amr: A Haven for Palestinian Orphans That Inspired Awe Near and Far until It Was Forcibly Emptied in 1948
Research and development for this project has been supported by Chicken & Egg Films, Palestine Exploration Fund, and Palestine Film Fund.
The project has been selected for Sheffield Doc Fest Meet Market, 2026.
Here are a couple of blogs I’ve written about the process so far:
To Make Things Grow - Reflections on a Research Project
To Make Things Grow: Digitising Archives at CBRL in Amman