This competitive section brings together films from all over the world that arouse emotions, that take the subjective point of view, that can be humorous, surprising and warm-hearted. Like the whole DOK Leipzig line-up, they compete for the audience’s favour. Here, however, the audience themselves will also award the prize – via online voting after the films.
A Palestinian woman, Hind Mashahra, longs for motherhood, but this seems hardly possible as her husband is serving a life sentence in an Israeli prison and is barred from marital visits. Smuggling her husband’s sperm out of prison may be the only chance for her to become a mother again. The documentary follows Hind as she sets out on a risky mission to obtain and deliver her husband’s sample to a fertility clinic. Her repeated attempts are hampered by the traffic, checkpoints, and the short life of semen, perishing within just hours. Unadorned in its language, the film stays close to Hind’s inner experience in the throes of drama, shaped by the reality in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, as well as in quieter moments of waiting that are no less charged. Weaving in accounts of other prisoners’ wives, the documentary chronicles a Palestinian woman’s journey as she pursues motherhood at an extraordinary cost.
Sevara Pan
Contains mentions of death, physical violence
Contains depictions of physical violence, death
