A Man Fell: Documentary on life in a Palestinian refugee camp presented at One World Festival

I spoke to Giovanni Lorusso, who presented his documentary A Man Fell at the One World Festival in Prague. Giovanni was able to capture the authentic experience of living in an abandoned hospital building as a Palestinian refugee. Through stunning visuals, he follows an 11-year-old boy, Arafat, on his adventures roaming through the many stories of the building. The documentary is an accurate testimony of the residents' lives, exceeding the context of current events.

I just wanted to ask a few questions following the screening of your film here. What is your relationship with the Palestinian refugee camp, and how did you find your protagonist?

“I've been traveling to the camps in Sabra and Shatila probably six times by now in the last four years, four and a half years. And my relationship with a part of the community there is extremely strong. I've somehow been adopted by the cast of my previous film, Song of All Ends, so my name there now is Abutales Haddad. I met the characters of this film in A Man Fell because I couldn't shoot in the same area in Shatila. So I went to Shatila, where I shot my previous film, and decided to reflect upon this problem by going and cutting my hair. I met a barber called Yasser Al-Ali, and while I was with him and he was cutting my hair, he said to me, "Well, would you like to see my place?" And so he brought me into the Gaza building. From that moment, the film started.”

Can you talk to us a little bit about the process of working with the children? They're quite prominent in your documentary. How did you go about that?

“The children they're very young, 11, 12 years old. Some of them are actually even younger than that. So I had no expectations for them to follow any direction whatsoever. It was really about seeing what they do and sometimes trying to recreate certain things, but in the most natural way - such as playing together or exchanging very small lines of discussion and dialogue. Just keeping it natural and trying to find a way for their presence to fit into the story of the film.”

Could you speak a little bit about the aesthetic of the film and the main ideas you had behind it?

“I usually produce these films with very little equipment, and I work completely by myself. So I have a very limited number of choices in the production. The most important thing is usually trying to understand what the space and the people around you are trying to communicate - what could be represented in a visual form. In the case of the Gaza building, it was quite particular because there wasn’t much light, and usually, any form of filmmaking requires light to frame something. So eventually, the darkness actually became a way to embrace the frame in the composition and guide the characters. The light, as a result, became a visual form. So eventually, the darkness actually became a way to embrace the frame and guide the characters.”

Final question - will you be returning to these refugee camps anytime soon? And do you have any upcoming projects?

“I do want to go back as soon as possible. I had a strong urge at the end of last year to go back and see how everyone is doing after the bombing season, so to speak. I don't think I want to make another film there right now because I've done three films in the camps, and now I need to get out and continue seeing other parts of the world. It's always important - at least in my research - to have different perspectives and take the time to analyze each one to better understand what you've done before. But my relationship with my family there is extremely strong, and luckily, we can communicate on a regular basis. I'm hoping to be back soon and see them in person.”