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The Invisible Policeman
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The Invisible Policeman
IDFA 2011

The Invisible Policeman

Laith Al-Juneidi
United Arab Emirates
2011
59 min
World Premiere
Festival history

Also known as Abu Sa'ed, 41-year-old Nidal is a Palestinian police officer. While on the job, he wears a uniform and has a certain level of power and status. But as soon as he returns home to the center of Hebron, which is controlled by Israeli forces, he is required to remove his cap and his epaulettes, for there he has no power at all. In the small house where he, his wife, and their nine children have resided since 1997, Nidal is a completely different man. The family is poor and under incessant pressure from Israeli soldiers and Jewish settlers all around them. The film follows Nidal in his daily life, and his various family members talk about what they've been through. His wife tells us how soldiers set the largest room in the house on fire a couple of years back - many household goods were destroyed, and the family barely managed to save themselves. They've all lived in one room ever since, as this is the only way they can feel safe. Nidal looks on powerlessly as his family suffers, and struggles with the question of whether it would be better to give in to the pressure and go live somewhere else.

Credits
Director
Screening copy
    Ishtar Creative Productions
    Ishtar Creative Productions
Distribution Benelux
    Jan Vrijman Fund
    Jan Vrijman Fund