A Short Film About Kids by Ibrahim Handal. Photo courtesy of AFI Film Festival.
HOLLYWOOD, CA (LA ELEMENTS) 10/27/2024 – A Short Film About Kids, written and directed by Palestinian filmmaker Ibrahim Handal, opens with four boys (Majd Al-Khatib, Omar Al Kurd, Ayham Qarage, and Omar Qarage) intently watching the children in their neighborhood swarm the local “ice cream man.” That he is selling ice cream from the trunk of an old beat up car isn’t lost on the boys. One of them notes sadly that a TV commercial featuring a real ice cream truck at the beach was much better than the sorry sight in front of them. This inspires plans for their first trip ever to the beach where surely the best ice cream can be found. But how to get there?
Handal does not name a single character in his film and in a way he doesn’t need to. The audience quickly understands that the story of these boys has played out many times in the lives of other children who also come from a refugee camp in Bethlehem. Children who have never stood on a real beach in front of the Mediterranean Sea due to Israeli government policy of mandatory travel permits for Palestinians.
The sight of a Mercedes taxi sends the boys in hot pursuit of the driver’s phone number printed on the vehicle. Deft camera work by Handal who is also the film’s cinematographer, lets us join in the chase as the kids race through a maze of twisted narrow alleyways. Finally success! They have the number. Pretending to be Italian, one of the boys calls and makes arrangements for the taxi to pick them up the next day. They then gather their money and decide that they may not have enough for the taxi after all. Desperately wanting nothing to stand in the way of their first day ever at the beach, they do some odd jobs for extra cash.
The next day the boys are on their way to the beach with the taxi driver. After a while, they approach the wall through which they must pass to get to the sea. The driver asks for passports and permits. When the children show confusion at his request, the driver knows that he cannot take them any further no matter how badly he feels for them. Without the right paperwork, the ride is already over. He leaves the boys standing in front of the wall through which they are not allowed to pass.
“They taught me in school to break the psychological wall,” says one of the boys. But standing before the actual wall, the reality of its overwhelming size is undeniable to all of them.
They’ve spent half their money on the taxi ride so now what?
Disappointed but still determined to go to the beach permit or no permit, they come up with a plan that only children could come up with. And in doing so, a memory is created that will last long after childhood ends.
If casting can truly make or break a film, then luckily the child actors in A Short Film About Kids have the joyful chemistry that at times recall the hijinks of The Little Rascals classic TV series. Even during moments of impending disappointment, what we see on screen is a friendship that will only get stronger with time. Indeed, one can see how this adventure will easily turn into a “Do you remember when…” moment, as years pass by.
It is very much a reality that children in troubled parts of the world are made to grow older, “come of age” before their time. Handal’s film beautifully illustrates how simply holding on to one’s own childhood can be courageous. Especially when you come from a refugee camp in Palestine.
A Short Film About Kids screened on October 27, as part of AFI Fest Shorts Program: Family Friendly slate.
A Short Film About Kids Running Time: 10 Minutes
Language: Arabic with English subtitles
Country of Origin: Occupied Palestinian Territory
Top Cast
Majd Al-Khatib
Omar Al Kurd
Ayham Qarage
Omar Qaraqe
Director Ibrahim Handal Writer Ibrahim Handal
Producer Wisam Al Jafari
Producer Ibrahim Handal
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