Habibi Hussein

HABIBI HUSSEIN explores the cinema as a central place in Jenin, a city in the occupied West Bank that has been heavily destroyed. The film focuses on a smaller space — the screening room. Projectionist Hussein Darbi depends on more than 40 years of experience and connections to get a carbon arc projector back up and running. For him, the rebuilding of the cinema represents an opportunity to contribute his expertise—for a German NGO, it is an aid project with its own standards. In this context, “Habibi” is not an expression of intimacy, but of imposed hierarchical relationships. Despite the challenges, Hussein, who died a few months after the cinema closed again, was able to achieve a moment of success.