The craft of making musical instruments is a tradition in the family of Samir, Wissam and Adnan Joubran, three brothers from Nazareth, who are bound by a shared passion for playing the ud. Improvisation follows the three brothers, from Nazareth to Ramallah under siege and eventually to Paris, as they cross check-points, work, laugh, cry and quarrel, improvising music and daily life. Chronicling moments of hope and pain in the musicians’ pursuit of their small dream in the midst of the crushing Israeli occupation, the documentary is at once a sentimental look–but far from the clichés of victimization-at a Palestinian family’s life, and a universal reflection on family relations. In Arabic w/English subtitles.

Screenings will be followed by a conversation with Jonathan Shannon (Associate Professor of Anthropology, Hunter College)

Raed Andoni has been working as a filmmaker and producer in Palestine since 1997. He is also a co-founder of Dar Films, an independent film production company based in Ramallah, Palestine. He has produced a number of award-winning documentaries including: Invasion (Ijtiyah) by Nizar Hassan (2003), awarded best film at the Ismailiya Film Festival in Egypt, Live from Palestine, by Rashid Mashharawi, awarded the Special Jury Prize at the FIBA in France; and Tahadi (Challenge) by Nizar Hassan. Improvisation, which he has both written and directed, is his most recent documentary.