Directed by Asmahan Bkerat and written by Ban Maraqa, the Najar family, one of the last Afro-Palestinian Bedouin families near Amman, faces eviction as luxury villas encroach on their land. Ten-year-old Eman endures discrimination while dreaming of a future honouring her heritage.
When you think of a documentary exploring displacement and destruction of cultural heritage, and livelihoods, for the benefit of the wealthy, what you imagine is probably quite different than what you get with Concrete Land. Asmahan Bkerat’s style is disarmingly wholesome, it opens with this excellent, sweeping landscape which has such a serene, emotional feel then builds something with sweetness and tenderness. Something that’s actually impressive considering the topic and how it explores the prejudice, coldness and disrespect which the Najar family faces.
Bkerat does a great job of capturing how quietly their home is taken away from them, how they’re slowly but surely evicted in a callous manner. Within the atmosphere of Concrete Land is a deep sadness, one that subtly hits you in waves, growing as the film progresses. The way that it’s delivered with such an earnest simplicity, while there’s so many complex issues at work beneath the surface was a really great choice. It encourages you to focus on who the family are as people, and connect with the subjects, rather than focusing on the outrage.
A part of that is definitely how Bkerat uses the visuals throughout, there’s a contemplative style to the direction. There’s a gradual movement to it, it’s intimate and there’s an inherently touching quality to watch Eman grow up through the years. Highlighting not just how difficult it is to make an honest living as working class citizens in a world that doesn’t respect them, but also the experience of a young woman living in a patriarchal, prejudiced society. Throwing up obstacles in both her wider life, and her home life.
Concrete Land is surprisingly sweet and tender, Asmahan Bkerat chooses such a humble, unassuming style to explore this complex story. It’s utterly rooted in family, opening up a conversation about many different issues while keeping a simple focus. It creates a lovely connection with this family, it’s sympathetic while never feeling purposefully geared for that, it’s simply a natural element of the documentary. It’s an intimate, poignant portrait.
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