Mayor
— “Mayor” was shown at the 2020 True/False Film Fest and, for T/F festival films, I’m giving a general reaction to the viewing experience, followed by the film’s description as it appeared on the festival website.
This was a welcome surprise and ended up being one of my favorite films of the festival. I worried that following the mayor of Ramallah, the de facto Palestinian capital, might be a dose of too much global conflict. What I got was a fascinating, fly-on-the-wall look at the daily life of a second term, Christian mayor who’s calm and purposeful, worried about park benches and fountains and making Ramallah a nice place to live even in the midst of endless occupation. He’s constantly moving, meeting constituents, brokering deals, worrying about branding and presenting the best image to the outside world, and all the other details of running a city, even if its a city without a country. The film was shot in 2017, just as the U.S. announced it would be moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, complicating things even more by adding a global dimension to the job. Although the mayor’s focus is always on making things better for the citizens of Ramallah, he knows ending the occupation of Palestine is the ultimate goal. For me, it was helpful to see a small piece of the issue, to visualize the place, and to know the similarities we share. It opened my eyes. Although the mayor was flexible about many things, he was clear about where a line must be drawn: “It’s about dignity. And when it comes to dignity, I think it’s something non-negotiable.”
Description from the T/F website: “Musa Hadid is the wry, level-headed mayor of Ramallah, a historically Christian city that has become the de facto capital of Palestine. Set during the Christmas season, ‘Mayor’ observes Hadid, e-cig in hand, as he traverses Ramallah to meet with constituents and manage the quotidian predicaments facing the city, all the while working toward a day when his nation will be truly free. Director David Osit’s patient camera reveals moments of absurd humor, lyricism, and even white-knuckle tension, all while allowing the less newsworthy aspects of oppression to be felt in indelible, organic ways.”
This was a welcome surprise and ended up being one of my favorite films of the festival. I worried that following the mayor of Ramallah, the de facto Palestinian capital, might be a dose of too much global conflict. What I got was a fascinating, fly-on-the-wall look at the daily life of a second term, Christian mayor who’s calm and purposeful, worried about park benches and fountains and making Ramallah a nice place to live even in the midst of endless occupation. He’s constantly moving, meeting constituents, brokering deals, worrying about branding and presenting the best image to the outside world, and all the other details of running a city, even if its a city without a country. The film was shot in 2017, just as the U.S. announced it would be moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, complicating things even more by adding a global dimension to the job. Although the mayor’s focus is always on making things better for the citizens of Ramallah, he knows ending the occupation of Palestine is the ultimate goal. For me, it was helpful to see a small piece of the issue, to visualize the place, and to know the similarities we share. It opened my eyes. Although the mayor was flexible about many things, he was clear about where a line must be drawn: “It’s about dignity. And when it comes to dignity, I think it’s something non-negotiable.”
Description from the T/F website: “Musa Hadid is the wry, level-headed mayor of Ramallah, a historically Christian city that has become the de facto capital of Palestine. Set during the Christmas season, ‘Mayor’ observes Hadid, e-cig in hand, as he traverses Ramallah to meet with constituents and manage the quotidian predicaments facing the city, all the while working toward a day when his nation will be truly free. Director David Osit’s patient camera reveals moments of absurd humor, lyricism, and even white-knuckle tension, all while allowing the less newsworthy aspects of oppression to be felt in indelible, organic ways.”
[2020. 87 min. Directed by David Osit.]
https://www.indiewire.com/2020/03/mayor-review-ramallah-musa-hadid-1202215500/
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