The wall that surrounds the city of Akka (a k a Acre) in northern Israel was built by the Ottomans, on the foundations of the 11th-century wall built by the Crusaders. For a long time, jumping from the wall into the sea below has been a rite of passage for the young Palestinians who still call the town home.
Akka is remarkably beautiful, but that is a curse of sorts, as Israeli business interests seek to turn the town into a tourist destination by systematically buying out the impoverished Arabs. Much of this documentary, directed by Patrick Alexander Stewart, Gina Angelone and Mouna Stewart, is a crash course in Akka history from the Palestinian point of view.
Shown on-camera with their religions left unspecified, Palestinians weighing in include teachers, artists, rappers, a restaurant owner and a boxer. They are unified by one thought: This is their home, and they’re not leaving, ever.
Technically, the film isn’t terribly exciting: talking heads interspersed with shots of young people making their symbolic “leap of faith” from the walls. But the directors have chosen eloquent interviewees, and the passionate attachment they feel for their city gives the film heart.