The Fifth War

A powerful Palestinian documentary starring Vanessa Redgrave about the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) and its role in Lebanon, as well as the daily struggles and resistance of the Palestinian people under Israeli occupation. Filmed right after the Tel al-Zaatar massacre, the film highlights the Palestinian fight for identity, dignity, and homeland.

Ismail Shammout, an artist who is primarily known for his paintings, also served as director of the Cultural Arts Section of the PLO and worked with the organization’s Film Unit in the 1970s. In this short film, Shammout records a solidarity song by the Palestinian Egyptian singer Zeinab Shaath to announce the most urgent call of Palestine. The song and the words of Kamal Nasser that break through the ballad continue to hold striking relevance today. Lyrics by Lalitha Punjabi.

Produced by the Palestine Cinema Institute in Beirut and directed by Iraqi filmmaker Samir Nimr, the film is titled after the small village of Kufr Shuba in South Lebanon–site of a powerful act of solidarity between the Lebanese people and the Palestinian resistance following a battle that devastated the village. The film stands as a poetic testament to the steadfastness of a people, their liberation struggle, and their love for the land.