Dreams and Silence

By crosscutting between the everyday existence of a Palestinian refugee in Jordan and the mystical ideas of a religious figure, Dreams and Silence reveals the contradictions between modern Islamic political thinking and the daily worries of a refugee. The film was shot at the height of the Gulf War and completed when it had already taken its toll in victims and destruction in the region. While military and political conflicts between the West and the Arab world linger and Arab political movements tinker with their abstract ideologies, this courageous woman is faced with very tangible dilemmas. She has no financial security and not a great deal of education. Her dreams about the liberation are gone, and her gender limits her personal and social freedom even further. Thus, the religious figure’s sterile thinking about politics and society stands in shill contrast to a more human perspective. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)