Can Palestinians laugh?
What does Palestinian stand-up comedy look like? Is there more to Palestine than suffering, occupation and genocide? Can you joke about the unbearable?
All valid questions, and to an extent, Palestine Comedy Club attempts to answer them.
Suffering does not deprive people of their sense of humour. If anything, sometimes laughing at the absurdities and atrocities of your daily life is what helps you survive. But there is something else worth remembering: Palestinians exist beyond their suffering.
I'm often asked, once people realise I'm Palestinian: "Do you have relatives in Gaza? Have you lost any family?"
I say no. Then I try to explain that our family lost its entire village in 1967. Does that qualify me as Palestinian? Does that make me entitled to sympathy and support?
How much do I have to suffer to be Palestinian? Does my humanity, expressed through comedy or poetry, count?
The film takes you on a documentary journey with a group of Palestinian comedians, following their lives, their jokes and their daily struggles. Along the way, it brings together the complexities, differences and diversity of Palestinian society in a remarkably simple and human way.
Perhaps that is one of the most important things the film achieves. It reminds us that Palestinians are not just people to feel sorry for. They are people who laugh, joke, love, argue, dream and live. And they have every right to do so without having to justify their humanity.
As Mahmoud Darwish wrote:
ونحن نحب الحياة إذا ما استطعنا إليها سبيلا
And we love life whenever we find a way to it.
Thank you, Aisling Bee, for a great conversation, and huge gratitude to Alla Shehada, Charlotte Knowles and Sam Beale for this amazing film.
