A fictional story of a boy and his pigeon is more real than you could imagine

By Laila Omar

On Saturday, Sept. 27, I was fortunate enough to attend a screening of the film Passing Dreams, directed by Rashid Masharawi, at this year’s Toronto Palestine Film Festival (TPFF). 

Before the film, a short documentary directed by Ahed Izhiman called I Witness Silwan was shown. The short offers a glimpse into life in Silwan — a Palestinian town in occupied East Jerusalem — where Palestinians, especially the youth, use art as a form of resistance to the ongoing expulsion and demolition of their homes by Israel. The walls are covered in murals of the eyes of famous writers, activists, artists and revolutionaries. Beyond the film itself, I Witness Silwan functions as an international public art project and initiative. The installation is a great act of placemaking that preserves Palestinian history, culture and their homes, in every form.

Initially released at the Cairo International Film Festival in 2024, Passing Dreams follows 12-year-old Sami (Adel Abu Ayyash), who lives in a Qalandia refugee camp in the West Bank with his mother. Sami faces what he feels is an urgent matter: his carrier pigeon flew away three days ago and has not returned since. When the local barber tells him pigeons always fly back to their original owners, Sami, equipped with just a cage and some money, makes it his mission to travel to his uncle Kamal (Ashraf Barhom) in Bethelem, who gifted him the pigeon.

Sami’s journey to find his pigeon takes the viewer through Bethlehem, Jerusalem and Haifa with his uncle Kamal and cousin Mariam (Emilia Massou). Passing Dreams is the epitome of the saying, “It’s about the journey, not the destination.” 

In terms of technical aspects, I appreciated the amount of tracking shots — where the camera moves to follow the subject — in the film. It allowed the audience to get a full view of the environments and immersed us in the action, as if you were right there with the characters.

I had taken my younger sister with me to attend the screening and after the film, she said to me, “Sami was so hard-headed.” I thought that was interesting, because he was, but I felt Sami truly encapsulates the resilience of Palestinians, unwilling to waver in the face of never-ending hardship. Despite the many times Sami is told to give up his search, he refuses, claiming he’ll travel alone if he has to.

Although this film depicts a fictional story, it’s still as impactful as the documentaries shown at TPFF this year — in that, it replicates real experiences. There are countless Samis in Palestine right now, longing for freedom from the occupation and suffering from having their families ripped apart by the genocide.

Sami’s journey offers a glimpse into life under occupation — Palestinians with their own stories of stolen settlements and separated loved ones, with no idea if they’re alive or well. In each region they visit, they must pass through IOF checkpoints with soldiers’ lingering glares and invasive searches. 

All of this leaves Sami questioning whether the pigeon he has been desperately searching for should be caged after all, or free to fly where his heart desires.