Educational Media Reviews Online

Until When documents the lives of Palestinians living in the Dheisheh Refugee Camp located near Bethlehem. It is rare that a film provides the personal portrait of the struggle that the Palestinians are enduring as part of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Each family describes how they live, work, and manage in the refugee camp.

The film discusses how each person or family has managed under the security measures set by the Israelis. One family describes how they still have land in an Israeli settlement and they are unable to build on that land. Since the land is vacant there are fruit trees that are very productive but they are even unable to travel to this land to enjoy the fruit. Another individual describes her daily commute to work. A once short commute is now an hour, if not longer, due to Israeli checkpoints delays. The increase in commute time was the result of Israel restricting access to Route 60 to only Israelis. A young man describes his experience working in a restaurant in an Israeli area. When he spoke Hebrew the staff was comfortable interacting with him. Once he spoke Arabic these same staff members grew uncomfortable in his presence. His insight into being Palestinian was profound. For him, being a refugee infuses his entire life.

With a film like this it is easy to become overtly political, instead, Until When allows each story to be told in a truly honest manner and the human spirit comes through. The film is in Arabic with easy to read English subtitles. This film is highly recommended for all academic library collections and large public libraries.