Rami Younis and Sarah Ema Friedland's hybrid documentary uses Lyd, a city of 77,223 in 2021, as a microcosm for the whole of Palestine. They begin by recounting the eventful history of the 5,000-year-old city. Now known by the Hebrew name Lod, it has been populated by a number of peoples, including Romans and Ottomans.
Starting in the 1880s and increasing after 1918, the region underwent a series of upheavals, culminating in the Nakba ("catastrophe") of 1948 in which 750,000 Palestinians were exiled. Lyd veers into speculative fiction by imagining how things might have turned out if the United Nations-mandated partition of 1947–and ensuing exile–had never happened.
In the actual timeline, the filmmakers speak with Palestinian survivors of the Nakba, like Eissa Fanous, in addition to a Nakba descendent and Lydian refugee who lives in Nablus, an overcrowded camp in the West Bank. Jehad Baba set out to become a lawyer, but that path is largely closed to refugees, so he followed in his father's footsteps as a metal worker.
Younis, an Israeli Palestinian, and Friedland, a Jewish American, also speak with Yair Revivo, the mayor of Lod, which is now part of Israel. He's proud of the town, but doesn't mention its Palestinian provenance, or the way Arabs are treated like second-class citizens. Manar El-Meneh, a schoolteacher, specifically mentions substandard schools and precarious housing.
In video footage from 1989, Israeli Palmach ("strike force") soldiers casually remember the Nakba, in which they attacked mosques, massacred worshippers, and even stole property. The Palmach were the precursor to the Israeli Defense Forces.
In the speculative timeline, Palestinian-Israeli actress Maisa Abd Elhadi narrates as Lyd, while Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine come together to create "The Greater Levant." Over the years, they're joined by European Jews, adding to the cross-cultural mix. Younis and Friedlander depict this alternate reality through hand-drawn and computer-generated animation.
Though described as a science fiction film, the factual material takes up more of the run time and leaves the greatest impression. Lyd/Lod isn't Gaza, which has suffered unfathomable losses in recent years, but it's hardly immune to sectarian violence, and in 2021 the city exploded after yet another Israeli attack on a mosque. Manar El-Meneh's heart breaks for all she witnessed or heard about, including a deadly assault on an elderly Jewish bystander. She also worries that many of her young students have no understanding of Palestine's history or of their Palestinian heritage–they don't know what they are.
Lyd was completed prior to the Hamas attack on Israel in 2023, but it feels up the minute, since everything the filmmakers depict is happening again--or accelerating–though their approach is more empathetic than incendiary, and they don't show any of the more upsetting atrocities witnesses describe. Though it may prove controversial in some quarters, the film was made by directors of Israeli, Jewish, and Palestinian descent--Younis grew up in Lyd--who are simply unafraid to dream big. Recommended.
Why should public and academic libraries consider including this Palestine documentary in their collections?
Lyd provides a deeply personal and historically grounded exploration of one city that reflects the broader complexities of Palestinian and Israeli history. By combining firsthand testimony, archival footage, and speculative storytelling, the film offers multiple entry points for viewers seeking to understand displacement, identity, and memory. For public libraries, it can serve patrons interested in global affairs, human rights, and contemporary history, while academic institutions will find it especially useful for Middle Eastern studies, political science, and documentary film courses. Its thoughtful, empathetic approach allows it to engage difficult subject matter without relying on graphic imagery, making it accessible while still impactful.
Is this Palestine documentary suitable for classroom or community discussion-based screenings?
Yes, particularly in moderated or educational settings. Lyd is well suited for classrooms and community programs that encourage dialogue about history, identity, and competing narratives. Its hybrid structure, blending documentary and speculative elements, makes it a strong case study for examining how storytelling can reshape historical understanding. Educators can use the film to prompt discussion on displacement, collective memory, and how future possibilities are imagined alongside past realities. For community screenings, it works best when paired with guided discussion or contextual framing to help audiences engage thoughtfully with its themes.
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