Beirut – Between the folds of memory and the dream of return, director Carol Mansour narrates the life story of her mother, Aida Abboud, who left Jaffa at the age of 21, and carried with her many memories and daily details that she embodied in a film titled “Aida.”
The story of the film “Aida” revolves around the return of the remains of her mother Aida to Jaffa, which were translated into poignant clips presented by Carole, the daughter, in which she narrates the reasons that forced her to leave Jaffa, her birthplace, during the Palestinian Nakba in 1948, with her family, where they moved to Broummana. In Lebanon, before she passed away in Montreal, Canada.
3 basic narrative paths
Director Mansour adopted 3 basic narrative paths:
- The first track in Beirut in 2007, Where we see Aida, a strong woman, recounting clear memories of the moments of her departure with her family from Jaffa, heading towards Lebanon. Her daughter tells the details of their life in Lebanon and the obsession of returning that has never left her.
- The second track in Montreal – Canada between 2012 and 2015, Where we see Aida, an old woman suffering from Alzheimer’s, her memory gradually begins to disappear, except for her memories of the Jaffa Sea. She tells many childhood stories about her old neighborhood in Jaffa.
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The third path is related to the stage after Aida’s death. Mansour is joined in this trip by her friend, director Tania Habjouqa, a Jordanian-American photographer residing in East Jerusalem, and Palestinian activist and playwright Raeda Taha joins her to return Aida’s ashes to the homeland, searching for the location of the house whose coordinates they have only from Aida’s memories.
Director Carole Mansour (left) with her friend, director Carole Tania Habjouqa (Tel Aviv Tribune)
Documenting the life stories of “my mother Aida”
Despite the challenges and obstacles in the filming and directing process, the film presents these three tracks in a harmonious manner, combining the necessary information, with elements of dramatic suspense and emotional charges, within a visual vision full of old images.
Director Mansour told Tel Aviv Tribune Net: “When I started documenting the stories of my mother Aida’s life, I was only documenting it spontaneously, in order to preserve her personal memories; as a daughter, she began to feel the loss of her mother, who is struggling with Alzheimer’s disease.”
The height of suspense is the moment Aida returns with her ashes inside a plastic bag designated for the remains for the first time since 1948. She steps on the soil of Palestine and wanders through its streets until she reaches the Old City, where her home is and the home of her first memories. Mansour followed up on the arrival via video calls on her cell phone.
In one of the scenes filled with feelings and nostalgia, Aida describes to her daughter Mansour their large house, which is surrounded by a garden full of roses, while Mansour collects the remains of pictures of the memories that her mother narrated before her death, to begin the process of broadcasting about the “Al Abboud” house.
A temporal and spatial journey full of emotions, crafted by director Mansour to triumph on the emotional level of the conflict of Palestinian memory, identity and belonging, and reflects a method of cultural resistance that challenges and breaks down barriers and restrictions towards achieving her dream and the dream of every Palestinian to be buried in his land.
Mansour says: “When I started filming, it did not occur to me that I was preparing material for a film, but when I returned from Canada and I had Aida’s ashes in my possession, I decided to make a film, because the topic was no longer just a personal matter, but rather an issue related to every refugee who dreams of returning to his occupied homeland.” .
Return home
The Palestinian director immerses herself in telling the story, trying to shed light on the concepts of identity, freedom, life, memory, and dreams. The return home, whether real or fraudulent, forms the essential basis of the film, which takes place for about 75 minutes.
“I was surprised when her mother chose to cremate her body,” Mansour says. She added: “The most difficult stages were when I filled a bag with my mother’s ashes to smuggle them to Palestine, then I handed it to my friend who brought it back to Palestine.”
She recounts, saying: “My friend treated the returnee’s ashes as if she were physically returning to her homeland, from hugging her to talking to her, and I told her with joy that she had returned to her homeland. Through the film, I not only fulfilled my mother’s dream of returning, but I went beyond that to achieve a victory over the enemy.” Despite everything”.
She added with great emotion: “The film had a beautiful and sad feeling at the same time. I cannot reach Jaffa despite my proximity to the place. It is a sad feeling to accompany my mother’s ashes on her last trip to Jaffa via a video phone call.”
She continued: “I watched all the details of my mother’s life, from her home to her school, and then to the streets that she passed through in Jaffa. Then she completed her dream, as she also requested that her ashes be scattered in Broummana – Lebanon. What is beautiful about the film is that it was a kind of helpful luck, as it We just relied on details that my mother told about her home, and from here we began inquiring and researching carefully until we arrived at the house.”
Mansour pointed out, “There is also a role for friendship in the film, not only in victory and return, but my friends took a great risk and took on a great responsibility.”
The film “Aida” was a remarkable success and an incentive to continue. Its director says: “After the film, we launched a website to collect Palestinian refugees anywhere in their land and city in Palestine, by communicating with the people who live there. We also launched a virtual museum to collect Palestinian property, with the aim of confirming the existence of the Palestinians and their right to their land.”
Carol Mansour proudly says: “Since I started making films, I have made them a means of conveying a message to the world that carries many goals, including getting to know Palestine more and proving the existence of the Palestinians and their right to their occupied land. It is more than just a film, as it represents the continuation of the Palestinian narrative, truth and memory.” We do not forget, and we will continue to tell our story and achieve victories.”
