Amid uproar on social media, Netflix releases Jordanian film Farha on forced eviction of Palestinians in 1948

Jordanian film Farha, which depicts the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, also known as Nakba, in 1948, is now available on streaming giant Netflix. The film is garnering rave reviews online and its on our weekend watchlist.

The Jordanian film that released on Netflix on Thursday is described as the story of “a 14-year-old girl in 1948 Palestine who watches from a locked pantry as catastrophe consumes her home, right after she persuades her father to let her continue her education in the city.”

According to Al Jazeera, Farha depicts the true story of how more than 750,000 Palestinians were evicted by the Israeli forces as they captured 78 per cent of historic Palestine.

Many people have praised the film’s depiction of the Nakba and the struggles of the Palestinian people.

As the film receives rave reviews online from people across the world, it has predictably been condemned in Israel. Israeli activist Yoseph Haddad campaigned against the film for “defam[ing] Israel and present[ing] the IDF as baby killers.” Outgoing Israeli finance minister Avigdor Lieberman also spoke against the film and suggested that the state funding must withdraw from a theatre in Jaffa that plans on screening it.

The film has been written and directed by Darin J. Sallam and it stars Karam Taher, Ashraf Barhom, Ali Suliman, Tala Gammoh, Sameera Asir, Majd Eid, Firas Taybeh and Samuel Kaczorowski.

Sallam’s film has also been selected as Jordan’s official entry for the Oscars’ Best International Feature alongside Pakistan’s Joyland by Saim Sadiq and India’s Chhello Show by Pan Nalin.

What is Nakba?

Every year on May 15, Palestinians around the world remember the Nakba, during which the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians was carried out in 1948.

According to Al Jazeera, the British government at the time had shown support for a Jewish state but as soon as that mandate expired, Zionist forces declared the establishment of Israel, leading to the first full-scale Arab-Israeli war.

Till this day, the Israel’s military occupation in Palestine remains at core as the conflict continues to grow, making it even more challenging for Palestinians to co-exist.