### Bye Bye Tiberias (2023) *[Bye Bye Tiberias](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bye_Bye_Tiberias)* is a movie about exile, separation, alienation, and belonging. Written and directed by French-Palestinian filmmaker [Lina Soualem](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lina_Soualem), it focuses on the women in her family, especially her mother, Palestinian actress [Hiam Abbass](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiam_Abbass) (of *Succession* and *Rami* fame). Soualem family is originally from [Tiberias](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiberias), a historically-Palestinian city on the shore of the Sea (really, the [lake](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_of_Galilee)) of Galilee. Her great-grandmother's family fled, on foot, to [Deir Hanna](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deir_Hanna) - a small Palestinian village, 30 kilometers away - during the 1948 [Nakba](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nakba). Like most internally-displaced Palestinians, who ended up within Israel's borders after the war, the family gained Israeli citizenship, but was not allowed to return to their hometown. The film weaves together personal and historical narratives, using home videos and archival footage to chronicle the family's journey, starting with matriarchs Umm Ali (director Lina Soualem's great-grandmother) and her daughter, Ne'mat (Soualem's grandmother); their life in Tiberias, and their experience of exodus, poverty, and exile. The bulk of the movie focuses on Hiam Abbass. As a teenager, she felt suffocated by Deir Hanna's provincial, remote, and conservative atmosphere. As a young adult, defied social expectations, pursuing unconventional career paths as a photographer, and later, an actor. She married an English man against her parents' wishes, while struggling to keep them in her life despite their disapproval. She dreamed of escaping isolation, and rejoining the world; escaping her conservative family for more liberal pastures, her village for bigger places, and Israel, to rejoin the broader Arab world. I especially appreciated the story of Hiam's aunt (Umm Ali's daughter; Ne'mat's sister), Hosnieh. She was separated from the rest of the family in 1948, ending up in [Yarmuk](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yarmouk_Camp), a Palestinian refugee camp on the outskirts of Damascus. Thirty years later, long after Israel, long after the borders had solidified, she managed to sneak back into Palestine, surprising her family with an emotional visit. They had no idea where she ended up, or even if she was still alive. Years later, Hiam fulfilled her dream of rejoining the Arab world. Armed with a new, French passport, she traveled to Yarmouk, looking for Hosnieh. Miraculously, she found her there. The film masterfully captures dual perspectives, which are usually portrayed separately, incorporating them into a coherent whole. In the eyes of Palestinians in exile - [those that stayed behind; those who would end up obtaining Israeli citizenship](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_citizens_of_Israel) - have held on to something precious. A lost homeland. At the same time, Palestinian citizens of Israel feel abandoned, left behind, isolated, and trapped; forced apart from their families across the border, and from the broader Arab world. Hiam longed to rejoin the Arab world. Hosnieh longed for her family in Palestine. The movie, which was released shortly before October 7th, 2023, ends with a prescient reflection on the fragility of Palestinian life. "Behind our smiles, I know the fear that lies dormant in all of us: what if what remains of this place were to disappear?" Highly recommended. You can stream it for free (from Ireland / using a VPN), [here](https://www.arte.tv/en/videos/099738-000-A/bye-bye-tiberias/).