Haifa

Haifa

1996 · 110 min · ★ 6.3 · Drama, War

Haifa, nicknamed after the city of his love and hope, goes around and comes around in a Palestinian refugee camp. Although he is everybody's fool, there are many things that only he knows. He is closely related to the family of Abu Said, a former policeman who gains new hopes from the political developments. Oum Said, his wife, hangs her hope on the imminent release of their eldest son, Said, from jail. She tries to find him a bride to secure things for the future. Their youngest son, Siad, is cynical and rebellious. He refuses to believe things. Sabah, the 12 year old daughter is romancing the future and wants to find out what's in it for her. The different stories are interwoven into a very timely insight into the current Palestinian mind.

Directed by Rashid Masharawi · Written by Rashid Masharawi

Your Rating

Where to Watch

Rent or Buy

Amazon VideoGoogle Play MoviesYouTube

Cast

Make it a double feature

3h 20m together

Both from Rashid Masharawi.

More from Rashid MasharawiSee all →

AttentiveAttentive · 2005
Attentive
★ 9.02005
MovieDrama
Before leaving to settle abroad, Ahmad accepts one last job. He must audition actors for the new National Palestinian Theatre. On the road with interviewer Bissan and her cameraman Loumir, Ahmad goes in search of talent in the numerous refugee camps of Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. Hopefully for the last time, Ahmad experiences the insurmountable difficulties of life in Palestine: harassing searches at check points and borders, barricades, constant tension. He realizes the destiny of all waiting refugees is much the same as his own. He ends up guiding the auditioning actors into dramatizing what best embodies their destiny. But with the chance to catch his plane at risk, Ahmad could see the opportunity for his long-awaited exile slip away.
Palestine StereoPalestine Stereo · 2014
Palestine Stereo
★ 8.02014
MovieDrama
After an Israeli raid causes the two brothers, Milad and Samy, to lose everything, they decide to rent out audio equipment for various occasions, in an attempt to gather enough money to emigrate to Canada.
From Ground ZeroFrom Ground Zero · 2025
From Ground Zero
★ 7.42025
MovieDocumentaryDrama
"From Ground Zero" is a compelling project that brings together 22 short films created by talented filmmakers from Gaza. Launched by Rashid Masharawi, a notable Palestinian filmmaker, the initiative emerged amid the backdrop of conflict, aiming to provide a platform for young artists to express themselves through their craft. Each film, ranging from 3 to 7 minutes, presents a unique perspective on the current reality in Gaza. The project captures the diverse experiences of life in the Palestinian enclave, including the challenges, tragedies, and moments of resilience faced by its people. With a mix of genres such as fiction, documentary, docu-fiction, animation, and experimental cinema, "From Ground Zero" showcases a rich tapestry of stories that reflect the sorrow, joy, and hope inherent in Gazan life.
Passing DreamsPassing Dreams · 2024
Passing Dreams
★ 7.02024
MovieDramaAdventure
Sami, 12, pursues an elusive carrier pigeon across Palestine, which he assumes has returned to its homeland. What quest is really behind the invisible pigeon?
Arafat, My BrotherArafat, My Brother · 2005
Arafat, My Brother
★ 7.02005
MovieDocumentary
In November 2004, Yasser Arafat died. He had been leader of the PLO since 1969 and president of the Palestinian Authority since 1993. His younger brother, Dr Fathi Arafat, died soon after of cancer. Driven by despondency about the endless violence and the continuing uncertainty about the future of his people, the well-known Palestinian film maker Rashid Masharawi started working on a documentary 18 months earlier, in which he follows Dr Fathi Arafat and travels from Cairo to Paris, via Ramallah and Lebanon, tackling endless closed borders and roadblocks.
Ticket to JerusalemTicket to Jerusalem · 2002
Ticket to Jerusalem
★ 6.22002
MovieDrama
This inspired hybrid of documentary and fiction follows Jabir, who runs a mobile cinema from his old truck throughout the West Bank while his wife works to bring emergency medical care to Palestinians. When Jabir is invited by a spirited schoolteacher to make a screening in the old city of Jerusalem, he becomes obsessed with the idea of this pilgrimage and begins to investigate the possibilities.
DriftingDrifting · 1982
Drifting
★ 6.01982
MovieDrama
Robi is a young Israeli who lives his grandparents and works at their store. He dreams of finding true love and becoming a movie director, both of which seem increasingly difficult. His film career stalls, until he can get financial backing and his love life seems to be in similar shape. While the urban city has places to cruise for sex, Robi struggles to find an organized gay community and a committed relationship.
Laila's BirthdayLaila's Birthday · 2009
Laila's Birthday
★ 5.82009
MovieDrama
As Abu Laila is forced to leave his job as a judge and become a cab driver, he faces a hectic challenge when he's told by his wife to bring a gift and a cake for their daughter's seventh birthday, which proves to be a task more complicated than he expected.
When Night FallsWhen Night Falls · 1985
When Night Falls
★ 5.81985
MovieDrama
Giora (Assi Dayan) runs a bar and dreams of opening a restaurant. He has made a mess of his life — his marriage is in trouble, since he is pathologically cheating on his wife; his parents (Yosef Millo and Orna Porat) have separated; and his father arrives for an extended visit from Nahariya. Giora spends time with his army buddies, recalling their experiences during the War in Lebanon. His father is undergoing a major life crisis and finds both the loneliness of the city and his son's lifestyle unappealing. As a non-Jew in a Jewish society, he feels estranged, an outsider who has never been able to adapt, and contemplates suicide. Eventually, Giora's parents decide to attempt a reconciliation, until tragedy strikes.
CurfewCurfew · 1994
Curfew
★ 5.51994
MovieDrama
This drama portrays a day in the life of a Palestinian family during a curfew announced by the Israeli army in a Palestinian refugee camp on the Gaza Strip in 1993. From that point on, they must live behind closed shutters, barred from their daily lives and needs.
Citizen OsamaCitizen Osama · 2026
Citizen Osama
2026
MovieDocumentary
In besieged northern Gaza, Osama, a former artistic photographer turned war documentarian, struggles to protect his wife and newborn while capturing devastation around him. Amid hunger, loss, and trauma, he persists, driven by duty and hope, offering a raw, intimate portrait of resilience and humanity in wartime.
HassanHassan · 2026
Hassan
2026
MovieDocumentary
A 17-year-old Palestinian is trapped by need amid Gaza’s starvation war. His dangerous attempt to fetch a sack of flour ends with a lone fifteen-month journey from north to south Gaza.
TensionTension · 1998
Tension
1998
MovieDocumentary
RecoveryRecovery · 2021
Recovery
2021
MovieDocumentary
Rashid Marshawi takes us on a special journey across the historical city of Jaffa, where his father was forced to leave in the 1948 exodus. With his own voice, Marshawi narrates his memories of the city, bringing to life the waves on Jaffa’s shore, the sounds of its streets, and the sweetness of its inhabitants and its spirit. Recovery is a splendid cinematic experience that attempts to cloud the border between time and space as Marshawi takes us on a tour of magnificent photos from 1930 to 1948, allowing his nostalgia to breathe a new life into the static bodies portrayed.
Colors Under the SkyColors Under the Sky · 2025
Colors Under the Sky
2025
MovieDocumentary
Amid Gaza's ruins, Aya's voice rises, seeking refuge in music, dreaming of peace, and the road back home.
The Clown of GazaThe Clown of Gaza · 2025
The Clown of Gaza
2025
MovieDocumentary
A portrait of the greatly beloved performer Alaa Meqdad. The bombings of Gaza City—where he once lived with his parents, sisters, wife, and children—have forced him and his family into a tent camp. With extraordinary optimism, he embraces life in the here and now, and tries to make it more enjoyable for others. Together with his partner, he performs as Aloosh the clown for children in hospitals and on the streets. Their jokes, songs, and boundless energy make the horrific reality momentarily disappear.

More Like This

Live and BecomeLive and Become · 2005
Live and Become
★ 7.42005
MovieDrama
In 1980, the black Falashas in Ethiopia are recognised as genuine Jews and are secretly carried to Israel. The day before the transport the son of a Jewish mother dies. In his place and with his name (Schlomo) she takes a Christian 9-year-old boy.
Lemon TreeLemon Tree · 2008
Lemon Tree
★ 7.02008
MovieDrama
Salma Zidane, a widow, lives simply from her grove of lemon trees in the West Bank's occupied territory. The Israeli defence minister and his wife move next door, forcing the Secret Service to order the trees' removal for security. The stoic Salma seeks assistance from the Palestinian Authority, Israeli army, and a young attorney, Ziad Daud, who takes the case. In this allegory, does David stand a chance against Goliath?
The Red Sea Diving ResortThe Red Sea Diving Resort · 2019
The Red Sea Diving Resort
★ 6.82019
MovieDramaThriller
Sudan, East Africa, 1980. A team of Israeli Mossad agents plans to rescue and transfer thousands of Ethiopian Jews to Israel. To do so, and to avoid raising suspicions from the inquisitive and ruthless authorities, they establish as a cover a fake diving resort by the Red Sea.
The Day AfterThe Day After · 1983
The Day After
★ 6.81983
MovieScience FictionDrama
In the mid-1980s, the U.S. is poised on the brink of nuclear war. This shadow looms over the residents of a small town in Kansas as they continue their daily lives. Dr. Russell Oakes maintains his busy schedule at the hospital, Denise Dahlberg prepares for her upcoming wedding, and Stephen Klein is deep in his graduate studies. When the unthinkable happens and the bombs come down, the town's residents are thrust into the horrors of nuclear winter.
Charlie Wilson's WarCharlie Wilson's War · 2007
Charlie Wilson's War
★ 6.52007
MovieComedyDrama
A Texas congressman sets a series of events in motion when he conspires with a CIA operative to aid Afghan mujahideen rebels fighting the Soviets.
WajibWajib · 2017
Wajib
★ 7.22017
MovieDrama
After years abroad in Italy, Shadi returns to his native Nazareth. But this is no spectacular homecoming. He's back somewhat begrudgingly to honour his "wajib" (or duty) to hand out invitations to his sister's wedding with his father. The simmering tension between the two — who are often stuck in a car, more often than not in traffic — builds, exposing the sometimes-comic chasms that exist between men who live in different worlds but share an unshakable bond.
Paradise NowParadise Now · 2005
Paradise Now
★ 6.92005
MovieCrimeThriller
Two childhood friends are recruited for a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv
Hotel RwandaHotel Rwanda · 2004
Hotel Rwanda
★ 7.72004
MovieDramaHistory
Inspired by true events, this film takes place in Rwanda in the 1990s when more than a million Tutsis were killed in a genocide that went mostly unnoticed by the rest of the world. Hotel owner Paul Rusesabagina houses over a thousand refuges in his hotel in attempt to save their lives.
Air AmericaAir America · 1990
Air America
★ 5.81990
MovieActionAdventure
Air America was the CIA's private airline operating in Laos during the Vietnam War, running anything and everything from soldiers to foodstuffs for local villagers. After losing his pilot's license, Billy Covington is recruited, and ends up in the middle of a bunch of lunatic pilots, gun-running by his friend Gene Ryack, and opium smuggling by his own superiors.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter