A city speaks for itself — literally — in this haunting sci-fi documentary about erased histories.
A sci-fi documentary that follows the rise and fall of Lyd — a 5,000-year-old metropolis that was once a bustling Palestinian town until it was conquered when the State of Israel was established in 1948. As the film unfolds, a chorus of characters creates a tapestry of the Palestinian experience of this city and the trauma left by the massacre and expulsion.
Direction
Dual directors weave archival, sci-fi, and testimony into something unprecedented.
Writing
The city as narrator — bold, heartbreaking formal choice.
Director
Sarah Ema Friedland
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Lyd (Lod to Israelis) remains a deeply contested space today — the film's release coincided with intensified gentrification and displacement of remaining Palestinian families.
Maisa Abd Elhadi, who voices the city, is a prominent Palestinian actress who has faced Israeli military detention and travel bans — her casting layers additional autobiographical weight onto the city's testimony.
PS
GB
