Original subtitles

- What is your name? - Raed.

- Here? - Yes.

I'll take the other cuff off.

It has to be the largest room.

Go from this concrete pillar to the other one.

Come to here, Raed.

- To you? - Yes.

The major's desk...

Where was it?

There.

But you have to make this room bigger.

OK, I will.

The desk is there.

Turn it around.

Have the front face that way.

Go back a bit.

Stand it straight.

There was one picture on the wall: Herzl.

- Did you spend nineteen days in this room? - What?

Did they interrogate you non-stop here for nineteen days?

Nineteen days in this centre.

In this room, seven days non-stop.

- Without sleep? - Without sleep.

Atef Al-Akhras, please.

- Hello. - Have a seat.

- Atef Al-Akhras from? - Gaza.

- Welcome. - Thanks.

What's your job? When were you in the Moscobiya centre?

I work in cinema.

- What work? - Set building.

- For long? - Yes.

Were you detained in Moscobiya?

I was detained, but not in Moscobiya.

Where?

I don't feel like talking.

- You don't want to talk about prison? - No, I don't like to.

So why did you come?

I saw a job ad in the newspaper about a film.

As I work in cinema, I came.

I do several jobs: building, plumbing...

and painting.

- When were you in Moscobiya centre? - 2006.

- How long? - About 90 days.

- Do you have a specific job? - Blacksmith, but I can do other things.

- Do you have enough experience? - Yes.

- I'm a qualified blacksmith. - OK, fine.

I am a designer.

- Interior designer? - Yes.

- Were you in Moscobiya? - No.

- So, which jail? - Jenin, Jnad, Al-sabaa...

- The interrogation? - In Jenin.

- Was Jenin an official interrogation? - Yes.

- With cells? - Cells, tie-down,

interrogation and isolation.

- A confinement room? - Yes.

I've never been in jail.

I saw an ad that you're looking for guys

who are ex-prisoners for a film.

The idea caught my attention. I'm very interested in this topic,

so I came too.

Ramzi Maqdisi, I'm a theatre and film actor,

I was in jail in 1997 for one year.

- How long were you interrogated? - About 3 weeks, I think.

I can't remember exactly.

I offer you three roles: 'prisoner', 'tough interrogator' or 'calm one'.

Which role do you choose?

An interrogator, any kind.

- You could play that? - Sure.

Show me.

- Which party do you belong to? - I belong to no one.

I have nothing to do with politics.

I asked which party you belong to.

To no one. What does "belong" mean?

For the last time, which party do you belong to?

I told you, I belong to no one.

Which party do you belong to?

Sit straight.

- Who do you belong to? - No one.

Who do you belong to?

No one.

Ramzi...

Don't force me to be violent.

Cut.

Stay here.

- Sorry, did I hurt you? - Not at all.

I'll offer you a prisoner role, do you accept it?

I'm an actor. It's what I do.

Mohammed, come check the colour.

- Shall I make it a bit darker? - No, it's fine.

- It's good. - Try the bag, then.

- Do I have to? - You don't have to.

- Only if you like. - I don't, but I'll try it for you.

- I know a cell. - What?

I was in one with a higher roof.

The cell roof was almost 3 floors up.

True, ventilation came from the roof when the door was closed.

It's good.

The desk is here. Herzl's photo on the left. The prisoner's chair here.

Anbar, come here.

Your hands up and face the wall.

- Want me to confess? - Sit on your ass.

Stay seated.

If you want to confess, I'll open the door. If not...

I have nothing to say.

- Abdallah is your friend? - No, he is not.

Abdallah already denounced you.

- I'm thirsty. - I'll bring you water.

But behave and think about your future.

What are you doing with your life?

Here is your friend Abdallah.

Don't listen to them, I didn't denounce you.

- Come out! - Don't confess.

- Shut up! - Liars!

We brought this guy several times. He never talked.

We'll tire him out till he talks.

How long will it take? A day? Two days? A week? Two weeks?

We have plenty of time.

I'm going out. I'll leave you with these guys.

Listen...

If they spit at me or insult me, I'll do it back.

Tell them to behave, OK?

Cut.

When did you feel that the interrogation...

was becoming serious?

When they asked me to kneel down.

- Kneel down, Ramzi. - I will.

Kneel down.

Kneel down! Here, do you understand?

When the prisoner refuses, the interrogator hits him here.

The prisoner can stand again if he wants.

Then the interrogator will repeat the same move.

Then, he flattens him against the wall

to shake him up.

This technique could be fatal. They banned it.

He shakes, then harder...

Shakes, then harder...

I said I wanted to go to the toilet. He said later.

"I want to go to the toilet." "Later."

He tried to use my bodily needs against me.

- Then? - Nothing.

I pissed myself.

But after every interrogation session,

if the prisoner stands strong, he feels the trance.

- Even with piss covering his body? - Who cares about piss?

The strength is here. It's here.

Which prison is it?

I've incorporated several interrogation centres.

I started with a prison I was familiar with,

then I talked to the other guys.

- You confused me. - No, I told you everything.

I drew your description of the prison.

We can't give you more details.

We can describe the cells and the entrance.

But after this entrance area, they always cover our eyes.

Let's imagine this is the entrance.

- This is our wing, then? - Yes, it's this corridor.

We have to build the infirmary and the reception here.

If we'll spend days and days working here.

I want to go through those places,

infirmary, reception... I want to see police officers work here, too.

- It just fits. - Perfect!

- 81 cms. - Yes, 81.

It's the right width.

But you have to fill it in at the top, see?

- I'm just doing my job. - Me too.

Stop blaming me and Anbar.

The result is what matters.

- It's OK, we'll fill it in. - Do it, then!

Why are you so annoyed?

Bachar annoyed me. He told me to stop what I was doing.

- You're not annoyed at me? - No, we're the same.

OK, the problem's solved, then.

This is for the reception area.

Alright.

Keep going.

Here we are.

- One more staple. - OK, one more.

And another there?

Come forward.

OK, 1, 2...

My God!

Just like Moscobiya.

Put it on Facebook.

See, that's a real prisoner's photo.

- With the Israeli flag. - Erase it. The shame!

I'm serious. If people see this flag, there'll be such a scandal.

1, 2, 3...

Action.

Speak, just a single word.

Speak to me.

What happened?

Nothing new.

I want to pee.

For two days I've asked to pee.

My friend, why do you do this to yourself?

Why put yourself in this situation?

Think a bit. You shouldn't be here.

You should be at the beach with your family.

You should travel and have fun.

All your leaders are doing that. Think about yourself.

Think about yourself.

Think about yourself.

Goddamn you, we have no one to clean here!

He who does it must clean it.

Laugh.

I have a comment here.

Cut.

Wait, wait.

Wait.

Now he has to sing.

We are telling you a story

That shows your real faces

That shows your real swords

Good morning.

We're exactly here.

This is the interrogation room. That's cell 13.

And we're somewhere here, opposite cell 13.

I drew some cells near the interrogation room.

Then, there's a corridor 2.8 metres wide

leading to the tie-down room as you described.

Two doors open onto this area.

We can rebuild your own cells

in the empty area which remains here.

As the architect is reproducing our memories,

I need to cross a maze of corridors,

pass right then left before reaching my cell.

You can pass through this door to this corridor before you get here.

Or else you can go around here, here and here.

And in Moscobiya,

there was a cell for prisoners with psychological problems.

Some felt so defeated or humiliated,

they tried to commit suicide.

- Do you know anyone who did? - My brother.

When I was a prisoner in Moscobiya, he was there, too.

He was put in a padded cell.

They said: "Your brother is being monitored 24/7".

He was tied to his bed...

and all the walls were padded.

There are important details...

in a cell.

Enough.

- Can I go? - Sure, if you want.

The most painful thing about my brother's story,

which eats away at me to this day...

is that they offered to put me in his cell to "look after him".

Calm down. Easy now...

And I refused!

My God! I said no!

Calm down... I'm sorry.

The chains come down from the waist to the ankles.

They brought him in, like this.

Did he look like you?

No, not really.

Can you describe him to me?

- Draw Raed. - Raed?!

Yes, but with darker skin.

He had dark skin.

- And his eyes? - Like Raed's.

My boy, I love you!

I love you, I love you...

I love you!

- Call him a fascist. - Fascist!

- Nazi! - Fascist!

- Nazi! - Fascist!

You're handcuffed.

- You hurt me. - That's what shaking is.

Relax.

He got carried away.

Should I have stopped him?

Never mind.

- Sorry. - No, it's OK.

Don't worry.

Do you want some coffee?

We'll think about an ending to the scene later. I'll do it myself.

An ending where they regain control of the situation.

When they cover his head, that's a kind of a control.

He can put the bag on his head and leave him to someone else.

Yes, and go out.

We said we'd do it this way.

No way. We said we'd build five partitions.

- Double, right? - That way.

No, Bachar, you just mentioned that way of doing it.

OK, you know better and it's your responsibility.

This partition has to be mobile.

- Alright? - Right.

I have nothing to do.

You mean I made a mistake or committed a crime!

I think it's the wrong way to do it.

What? Your way is wrong.

Atef, Bachar, don't you work together?

You both manage the construction crew. Why these arguments?

When it comes to building walls, even God isn't as good as me.

Even God who made the world!

How will you dismantle it?

You're like a surgeon who left a towel in his patient's belly!

- Partitions are my responsibility. - Go on, then.

They don't concern you.

Go on, take all that down.

Calm down. Let's stop working.

I do the wooden constructions.

Bachar does the props and we cooperate.

When it's props, Bachar can tell me what to do. I'll listen.

But Bachar doesn't just do props...

You make the set. He manages things.

I'm the set builder. I'll have to take it all apart.

Do it your way and face the consequences.

- If it's wrong, it's your fault. - OK.

He's responsible for how he works. It's his field.

It's his responsibility.

No more misunderstandings, you're the boss.

- OK, I'm responsible. - And I'm the chief of the whole prison.

I curse the day we built prisons.

No, that's another song.

No, Chadia's.

I feel good.

- I feel relieved. - Really?

I wanted to thank you.

Don't thank me. Tell me what you feel.

Yesterday, I took my children to the amusement park.

My wife joined us. I felt very happy.

My wife asked what had happened to me.

Me and the kids jumped on a bouncy castle.

She said: "What's got into you?" I said: "I'm just playing with the kids."

"I'm happy."

I felt it's good that I talked and got it off my chest,

for the first time in three years.

What's wrong? You were OK yesterday.

There's just you and me today.

What do you mean?

I have certain desires.

So, you're a fag!

It's a matter of hormones.

It's physiological.

Go fuck your soldiers.

Shut up.

I want you.

No one else.

I'm not into men.

I don't like fags.

I want you.

You Arab peasants!

How does your fiancée stand you?

Shut up, shut up.

How does your fiancée stand you?

Fag.

How will she marry you?

Calm down!

Why are you so worked up?

He provoked me by talking about my fiancée.

I told him not to.

But he didn't insult her.

He insulted you:

"How will she marry you?"

I'll get married before the film is screened.

I'll tell her: "I hit him five times,

because he mentioned you."

But this gay scene will cause a problem.

I love her, she's smart, she'll understand it's acting.

Just a script.

This cell has no name yet.

This one is for Diaa.

This is cell 13 requested by Omar.

This is the entrance.

We should turn it to the other side.

I'm here?

What's your cell number?

Imagine you are in a cell, think of it as a paper.

You can simply fold it in your head and put it in your pocket.

Turn it around.

Even his cell is philosophical madness!

It's not. I saw the artist do it with string and I liked the idea.

Oh, are we here to have fun?

- It's a prison. What'll people think? - You're like Atef.

I asked why he hit so hard. He said: "Think I'm acting?"

The funniest guy in the world, Ghassan, is from Hebron.

- Ghassan Jaber. - Oh, that's Ghassan!

The funniest guy in the world.

One day, we were being beaten up by two soldiers.

They beat the shit out of us.

He said to the soldier:

"I promise I'll give your mother a manicure."

I said to him: "What're you talking about?"

Later, in the cell, I asked him how such an idea came to mind.

This is the weirdest insult I ever heard.

Because I imagined his mother calmly sitting on your legs

while you manicure her fingers. What a weird picture!

I laughed a lot in the cell, far too much.

I thought I was losing my mind.

No, it's just a way of getting rid of all the suffering.

Ghassan was just that kind of guy.

He turns your cell into a circus.

Despite the fact that it's painful, it's really painful.

Fuck...

Fuck them.

Humour is a weapon.

I see it as a strength.

It's exactly right.

You're sweating.

It's October. It's not that hot.

You're right.

- Should I open the door? - If you like.

- No, as you like. - Open it.

- I'll open it? - Yes.

- Should I shut it? - Yes.

Sit on your ass.

Light, guard!

Want a light?

Want a light?

This cell is perfect.

I'm trying to experience the prison and what it feels like.

But what are you doing?

- We've watched you and we're curious. - Really?

I wanted to know how long you could walk in that space.

I worked out the distance you can do in two square metres

by walking for an hour or two. You're always in the same place.

But when you walk, the time inside

isn't the time outside.

There's your time in the cell and that of the outside world.

You stay in this space.

What's that mean?!

See the point of prison? It makes you creative.

- What he says is philosophical. - You're right.

I was teasing you.

- Let's free him. - OK.

Try this chair.

With a bag on his head, it's not the same.

- My arms like this? - Yes.

- You'll be like that for two days. - Two days?

Think we'll spoil you here?

You'll confess how many drawings you've done.

You're crazy!

- Is this OK? - It's too much.

Are you here to be spoiled?

How do you feel now?

- How many drawings? - A hundred.

Where did you draw them?

- Do you give up? - Untie me.

Stand straight.

- I need the bathroom. - Shut up.

Straighten up.

Head count.

Stand up.

Straighten up.

On your feet!

Against the wall!

You won't talk?

I'll make you talk.

Tell me everything.

With the fatigue...

you go into a trance, you start to hallucinate...

Do you see?

All of a sudden, I saw...

my late mother coming through the door, carrying a jug of water.

Understand?

She walked towards me.

She took the bag off my head

to give me a drink.

Understand?

I said to her:

"Give some to the others first."

She turned and went over to them

to give them a drink.

It happened in a flash, just a few seconds.

It was a beautiful sight.

See?

When you see...

In that situation, when you see someone you love,

it really lifts your spirits.

It was a moment.

- She lifts your spirits? - Of course.

The moment of her death came to my mind, that's why.

I see.

Especially as she died not long ago.

Please pass me the brush.

Thanks.

Don't get your hands dirty!

Careful!

When you asked me to be assistant director...

Yes.

I'd never been one before.

I'm a cameraman and an editor. It's what I do in France.

I talked to a woman in Lille.

She makes films too.

She asked who the director was.

I said: "Raed Andoni."

She said: "I don't know him,

but believe me, during the shoot, you'll discover a different Raed."

Is that what's happened?

Yes.

You want us all to be pawns in your game of chess.

Is that what you think?

You're a control freak.

Do you deny it?

Yes, I do.

I didn't sleep all night.

I was imagining the sexual assault and the "I love you" scene.

It went on all night.

Adnan said: "You didn't sleep last night."

I didn't say anything. He guessed.

Sometimes I feel

this project should end and I leave.

When I go out, I feel down and oppressed.

Because I'm reliving it.

Honestly, why are you making this film?

Because...

What's inside you, you beat it or it beats you.

- What is it? - I don't know.

But it's...

It's all the experiences you've had and are having.

So you're making this film

because you're trying to have a new experience in our skin.

- Mind if I hit you? - No.

- Are you tired? - No.

- What's your name? - Raed.

- What? - Raed.

- What? - Raed.

- What? - Stop!

Head count!

Head count!

Head count!

Hey, head count!

Shut up!

- Head count! - Got a light?

- What do seven eggs plus seven eggs make? - Fourteen.

An omelette, idiot.

Hey, head count!

- What do seven eggs plus seven eggs make? - An omelette.

No, idiot - fourteen!

Hey, head count!

Stand up.

You been asleep for twenty hours?

Give me cigarettes.

Haven't you had cigarettes today? Here.

Light? Hey, guard, give me a light!

Fucker!

When alone, in the dark, between tight walls.

Grass grows in your soul, flowers in your mind.

Your pale face radiates light.

You thirst for a friend more than water.

In jail, time doesn't count.

Mothers don't bake. Bread is not fulfilling.

Sounds of silence are high.

Tears of men are valuable. When pouring, you know what it means.

- Do you mind? - What?

- You went from the 1st line to the 6th. - It was Wadee.

- What idiot put you in prison? - I followed Wadee. He messed up.

The guy who put you in prison is a real idiot!

Who has a cigarette?

The director.

The director?

- Abu Atta! - Yes?

We're out of cigarettes.

We want our ration. Guard!

Shut up!

That's my son.

- He's the same? - Yes.

- Was he little when you were in prison? - Yes.

Have you seen photos of my son?

My word, he's handsome!

- How many children do you have? - Seven.

Seven a month?!

Look how he smiles.

- He must look like his mother. - Maybe.

When you were little, did you look like that?

I was more handsome.

You're still handsome.

My comrades kept asking me to take part in meetings.

I'd argue with them, especially the PFLP guys.

I don't like culture.

I said to them: "I don't want culture.

Leave me alone."

Some leaders understood me,

but the pseudo-intellectuals messed with me.

- Like Wadee? - Yes, Mr. Culture!

- How long were you in jail with him? - A year.

It's long enough.

- Was he the culture rep? - Yes.

Yes, he was our culture rep.

- Wadee! - Yes?

Come here.

- I won't go near Abdallah. - Your ears must've been burning!

Wadee, do you remember

what I used to say about cultural gatherings?

- You hated it. - I had a saying.

A saying! The new Che Guevara!

I knew nothing about culture, dialectics, and such stuff.

But you were the culture rep.

But I never led a cultural gathering.

You only gather us to those gatherings.

And in this project, he did the same.

True, here you also gather us to work, like in prison.

Not here.

I'll put it here.

So I can look at it when I go to sleep.

Look at him too...

This is a drawing of him. When they arrested me, he was that age.

When I imagined him, I wanted to kiss his little hands...

to kiss his feet and his head...

and smell him.

My wife and I would bathe him

when he was very little.

I smelled his shampoo.

The smell he had after a bath.

In my prison bed, I could smell it.

I remember that.

Prison is death.

When you die,

you leave one life

for another which is totally different.

Prison is the same. Suddenly, you're not at home anymore,

but locked behind that door.

And your life is limited to that place.

Food!

Beans and jam?!

I want tea.

Don't you like beans and jam?

It needs more tea.

Filth!

- Delicious. - You're crazy!

Wacko!

You have a screw loose.

- A light. - No light.

"The nightingale's job in the cage is to sing."

Not bad.

- Where did you steal that poem? - I don't know where I found it.

Look at the drawings.

That one's great.

I did that for the commemoration of Ghassan Kanafani.

It's my hobby.

"Your love is pain."

"Only be yourself." That's my saying.

Do you think it works when you have a girl in your life?

I don't know.

I haven't had any experience of it. Love...

Love is new to me.

God, she loves me so much.

I make her really happy.

When she hugs me, she just kills me!

She's happy. When she hugs me,

I stay for a quarter of an hour.

She's happy with me.

She understands that I need tenderness.

I feel calm when she takes me in her arms, I swear.

I've never felt like this before. It's really wonderful.

Love is beautiful!

There's nothing better.

Can I ask or is it personal?

You can.

- Is your writing secret? - No.

They're married. He's their child.

The father's in prison. He's passed on his patriotism.

He's still in prison.

When the son was born, the mother took on the father's role.

When we come to here, he's becoming a young man.

Then, we come to the point where he takes over the struggle.

Until he is arrested and is interrogated...

He ages, and the wheel turns:

marriage, the birth of a child, and history repeats itself.

I started to write it down.

My mother raised a child who cried in vain.

Mom, I grew up, lacking tenderness.

I suffered so much, my dream dried up. Fear sought a companion in me.

My life is a closed door: interrogation, torture, and deprivation.

They hung me up like a dead man until my blood dried.

They wanted me to sell my country.

I cared neither for fear nor my jailers' screams.

O mother, my days pass thus here. I live to the crack of the whip.

Neither asleep nor awake.

Forgive me, mother. I have no more tears.

I grew up in the love of my country.

- I'll miss you. You're a real poet! - Thank you.

Should I lock you up to write poems?

- No, it's OK. - Please!

I can't breathe in here.

Once this project is over, what will you do?

I'll prepare my wedding.

It's in ten days' time.

- Congratulations. - Thanks.

It's the most important moment of joy in my life.

I'm making my own happiness.

You stop, then start again.

Abdallah and Adnan, come join us.

Nice 'n' slow.

If you get it wrong, you'll be locked up!

Youssef, to your cell!

In the last few days, I felt upset, I don't know why.

Maybe I should settle down.

I don't want to stay single.

Settling down is good.

All my friends are married, except me.

- Well, you spent eight years in prison. - They were in prison, too.

I'm still single.

- How old are you? - 27.

You're actually 19. The eight years in prison don't count.

They don't count!

They've evaporated.

- What about acting? - How?

What acting? It's my first time acting.

If one day, you ask me to act

in a romantic film, how could I do that?

Nothing works for me.

You're an actor specialising in prison roles.

Yes. I'll have to wait 20 years to act in another film!

Head count!

- Hey, head count! - 1...

'Morning.

- Hey, head count! - 1...

Light.

No, put it out! It's forbidden!

Put the cigarette out. Put it out.

Guys, do you want a light?

Hey, what's this?

- Who lit your cigarette? - No one, I have a lighter.

- How come? Where is it? - It's with me.

- Who lit your cigarette? - No one.

Riad! Hayam!

Come here!

Oshari!

All of you, here!

Look...

Look, who lit your cigarette?

Look at them. Who lit your cigarette?

I had a lighter.

Hang him in the tie-down room.

- Do they fit? - Yeah.

Come on, guys, we're late. Where are the handcuffs?

Finish your cigarette fast.

- Come on. - I prefer it over there.

- Should we do it here or there? - It's up to you.

Who're you talking to? I'm in charge.

- I prefer it over there. - Sit down. Come on.

Guard Monzer...

Shut up.

I'm texting my fiancée my phone will be off during filming.

Can't you just turn it off?

No, I must tell her.

How many texts today?

1, 2, 3... 7.

It's not like Wadee: two words, and that's it.

She's my fiancée.

Put your arms down.

No, wait, I'll show you.

Has she replied yet?

She said: "Take it easy."

That means you can stay till 7 pm.

No, pal. That means "You've got one hour."

Guard.

- Guard! - What?

The handcuffs are tight.

OK, I'll come and loosen them later.

Do it now.

What is it? Do you want some lemonade?

Think it's a hotel here?

- Guard. - Yes?

I want a cigarette.

- A cigarette? - Yes.

I'll give you one for good behavior.

I have the lighter.

I'll give him the cigarette first.

Is the cigarette good?

You fucker!

Shut up. Be quiet.

Guard!

What?

A light.

Sleep, you bastard.

- Guard! - What?

Toilet paper.

Toilet paper?

An Arab wiping his ass? That's new!

Arabs wipe their asses with big stones!

Guard.

What?

- How old are you? - 24.

Old enough to be fucked!

Be quiet.

Be quiet.

Shut up.

Quiet!

Shut up!

Enough!

Shut up. Not another word.

What a fucking shitty job!

You want us to make up a story?

So, I grabbed a guard through the slot in the door

and pulled him inside.

So we can drink coffee together!

- Take him to his cell, guys. - To the cell.

Best wedding in the tie-down room!

It's not strange that it ends with the start of a new life.

Congratulations.

Congratulations, my friend.

Give birth to a dozen kids, OK?

As many as the actors!

1, 2...

Walk here.

Give me your hand.

You're so strong!

And this?

A swing.

- How come? - He's swinging.

There's a swing in prison?

Did you ever see a person fly?

We made him fly.

- What do you think? - It's imaginary.

Do the same.

Another one.

- Give me your ID. - Remove my handcuffs.

Ramzi plays your father in the film.

Lina just got out of prison.

- Which one? - Hasharon.

They put you in solitary?

Yes, that's why I had goosebumps when I arrived.

I went down stairs like those. It was dark, too.

Which cell is most like yours?

The smallest one. It was tiny.

Which one?

It's more like this one.

It was more like that.

Was there a metal chair, too?

Yes, and it was very cold.

Were you locked up in winter?

Yes, and my clothes were all ripped.

My trousers were torn, and I had nothing on my back.

I stayed like that till the end.

For two days, I had no blanket. They didn't give me a thing.

- How long were you there, Lina? - Six months.

Head count!

Good morning.

You're a brave man.

If you'd denounced me,

I'd have spent three months in prison.

Denounce what?

About the lighter.

But I had the lighter.

Asshole!

Guard! I had the lighter.