Farha (2021) on Netflix
In 1948 Palestine, fourteen-year-old Farha dreams of going to the city to study, as her best friend Farida does. Her father, the village mayor, wants her to marry instead.
- Netflix2.4/5
- IMDb8.0/1091,117 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes100%
Trailer
Plot summary
Farha is fourteen and lives in a Palestinian village in 1948, where she dreams of continuing her education in the city. Her father Abu Farha, the mayor and chief of the village, would rather she marry, until her uncle Abu Walid asks him to reconsider. One night local militias come to Abu Farha asking him to join the fight against the Nakba, and he refuses, saying his task is to look after the village. At a friend's wedding he tells Farha that he has agreed. Zionist militias attack during the celebrations and speakers order the villagers to evacuate. Farha chooses to stay with her father, who arms himself and locks her in a store room, promising to come for her when it is safe.
Cast
- Tala Gammohas Farida
- Tulin Al Quranas Abu Mohammad's Daughter #1
- Lamar Al Quranas Abu Mohammad's Daughter #2
- Firas W. Taybehas Farida's Father
- Leanne Kathudaas Farida's Mother
- Samuel Kaczorowskias Commander
- Batoul Ibrahimas Female Soldier
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Farha (2021)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- After Farha was released on Netflix on 1 December 2022, Israeli finance minister Avigdor Lieberman ordered the treasury to revoke state funding for Al Saraya Theater, which had scheduled screenings, aiming to prevent "the screening of this shocking film"; culture minister Hili Tropper called an Israeli theatre's screening "a disgrace".
- In the days after its release, Farha became the target of a coordinated downvoting campaign on IMDb, and the filmmakers were subjected to harassment on social media.
- Darin J. Sallam's film is based on a true story recounted to her mother by a friend living as a refugee in Syria, about her experience during the Nakba, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were expelled; Sallam's own family fled Palestine for Jordan in 1948.
- Farha was the first on-screen appearance of lead actor Karam Taher; director Darin J. Sallam said she was looking for a girl she could stay with for 52 minutes inside a room, and Taher's initial audition did not go well.
- Director Darin J. Sallam said some crew members cried behind the monitor while shooting, remembering their families and their stories, and the stories they heard from their grandparents.
