As the Poet Said

As the poet once described his homeland as a ‘land of words,’ so we might call this portrait of the Palestinian lyricist Mahmoud Darwish a film of words. This is because As the Poet Said traces the artist’s life solely through his lyrical works, recited by contemporaries, authors and aficionados of his poetry in various locations. From his birth in 1941 in Barwa near Akko to his death in 2008 in Houston, Texas, the political activist, who campaigned throughout his life for Palestinian independence, made his mark in countless places including Beirut, Moscow, Cairo, Cyprus, Tunis and Paris. This unusual homage to an artist casts an eye on both the Middle East conflict and issues of displacement. In As the Poet Said the “poetic voice of the Palestinian people” has his say one last time. (DOK.fest München)