Alam

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1:58

Alam

2022

1h 49m

Drama

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100%

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13 Reviews

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Despite being part of a young generation of Palestinian Arabs whose families chose to stay and challenge the Israeli state after Al-Nakba, 17-year-old Tamer and his friends are just like any other group of teenage boys. They clumsily search for drugs, flirt with girls, play video games, and slack off at school. However, when a beautiful new student named Maysaa' joins their class Tamer immediately falls for her and, by association, is drawn into her political activism. Together they join fellow classmate, Safwat, in an operation to covertly raise the Palestinian flag and peacefully disrupt the local celebrations planned for Israel's Independence Day -- otherwise known to Palestinians as a day of mourning and memorialization for their displacement 70 years prior. Unsure of his own political convictions, Tamer must quickly determine what matters to him and what price he is willing to pay for freedom. A skillful examination of the fraught political awakening young Palestinians are forced to undergo, this TIFF world premiere "perfectly captures teenage fearlessness and bravado along with a certain cluelessness about how the real-world works" (Variety). An striking debut feature film from Firas Khoury, ALAM marries conversations around nationalism and iconography with the universal themes of growing up.

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Tim Cogshell

FilmWeek (LAist)

May 10, 2024

I thought it was very strong, and man these kids can act.

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Namrata Joshi

The New Indian Express

Jun 8, 2023

It’s about the loss of innocence and essential politicisation of the young through acts of resistance with a flag as a tool and ally.

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Adam Mullins-Khatib

Chicago Reader

May 17, 2023

Khoury’s Alam is an affecting and effective film firmly fixated on contradictions and how we navigate them to create a sense of self.

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Joanne Laurier

World Socialist Web Site

Jan 13, 2025

Alam is a sincere and honest film. Its thoughtful presentation of its central character’s dilemma—the desire to live a normal life under conditions of perpetual repression and violence ...—has a resonance beyond the borders of the Middle East.

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Joshua Polanski

Boston Hassle

Jul 5, 2024

I’m not sure how many better endings I will see this year.

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Hanna Flint

The New Arab

May 13, 2024

Khoury carefully portrays the gutsy and, at times, naive drive of a youth awakened by the politics of identity, nationalism and systemic oppression.

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Nad N

@RT98957737 Jan 17, 2025

ALAM (The Flag) علم This film… so good, so crushing. 😮‍💨 The acting is superb. It pulls you in and makes you feel like you’re right there with them. A powerful story of people, places, and the politics that shape them.

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Firas Khoury

Director

Mohammad Karaki

Shekel

Mohammad Bakri

Tamer

Muhammad Abed Elrahman

Safwat

Ahmad Zaghmouri

Actor

Saleh Bakri

Uncle Naji

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Synopsis

Despite being part of a young generation of Palestinian Arabs whose families chose to stay and challenge the Israeli state after Al-Nakba, 17-year-old Tamer and his friends are just like any other group of teenage boys. They clumsily search for drugs, flirt with girls, play video games, and slack off at school. However, when a beautiful new student named Maysaa' joins their class Tamer immediately falls for her and, by association, is drawn into her political activism. Together they join fellow classmate, Safwat, in an operation to covertly raise the Palestinian flag and peacefully disrupt the local celebrations planned for Israel's Independence Day -- otherwise known to Palestinians as a day of mourning and memorialization for their displacement 70 years prior. Unsure of his own political convictions, Tamer must quickly determine what matters to him and what price he is willing to pay for freedom. A skillful examination of the fraught political awakening young Palestinians are forced to undergo, this TIFF world premiere "perfectly captures teenage fearlessness and bravado along with a certain cluelessness about how the real-world works" (Variety). An striking debut feature film from Firas Khoury, ALAM marries conversations around nationalism and iconography with the universal themes of growing up.

Director: Firas Khoury
Producer: Naomie Lagadec, Marie-Pierre Macia, Claire Gadea, Ossama Bawardi, Melik Kochbati
Screenwriter: Firas Khoury, Firas Khoury
Distributor: Film Movement
Production Co: MPM Film
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Hebrew
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 26, 2024
Runtime: 1h 49m

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