Citizen Nawi

The result of over five years of intense filmmaking, director Nissim Mossek's portrait of political and social activist Ezra Nawi intertwines the story of the subject's fascinating personal life with a meditation on the daily hardships endured by Palestinians in the South Hebron Hills. Nawi has devoted his life to supporting Palestinian farmers, and as a result he experiences frequent clashes with the army, the police, and the militant settlers who frequently bully those hard-working laborers of the land. Over the course of the film, Mossek follows Nawi to the small village of Tuwane. Comprised of a series of stone caves and a few small buildings, Tuwane overlooks South Hebron. It is here that Nawi has decided to build a health clinic, but the presence of settlers and the intrusion of military bulldozers make this an incredibly daunting task. Meanwhile, Nawi spends his free time with Palestinian Fuad Mussa, his partner of three years. Mussa has been in and out of prison countless times over the years, and as their relationship intensifies Nawi's mother begins to fear that she will never experience the joy of becoming a grandmother.