Occupied Palestine (1981)

Long before the first Intifada drew international media to focus on Palestinian life under Israeli rule, David Koff produced this in-depth portrait of the daily conflict being waged in Israel/Palestine. It was recently rediscovered. With a combination of candid interviews and remarkable historic footage, Occupied Palestine unpicks the strategic and ideological motors of Israeli rule in Palestine, powerfully depicting that the roots of today’s crises were firmly planted in the ground decades ago. Met with bomb threats and censorship on its initial release in the US in 1981, Occupied Palestine remains a singular work of engaged filmmaking and a unique record of an overlooked chapter in the course of the conflict.