Checkpoint 300 is an infamous Israeli checkpoint in Bethlehem that today sees thousands of Palestinian workers funneled and sardined through narrow lanes, steel bars, and turnstiles—sometimes to the point where they are seriously injured—all so they can make it to their jobs every morning. It is emblematic of the ongoing issues surrounding the Israeli occupation of sovereign Palestinian territory – primarily, the cruel dehumanization of the everyday Palestinian experience. British-Palestinian filmmaker Farah Nabulsi uses her short film The Present to focus on exactly this, even going so far as to take candid footage of the checkpoint as it gets its grim, early-morning death march underway. This footage only sets the stage for Nabulsi’s story, but it hangs over the fiction that follows as a foreboding statement.

The Present follows the middle-aged Yusef (Saleh Bakri), who we actually see navigating the harrowing Checkpoint 300, but who, in the story proper, is only required to run an innocent errand with his young daughter. It is he and his wife’s anniversary, and he has arranged to pick up a new fridge for her. Unfortunately, the store is in Jerusalem, and so he and his daughter are required to pass through another checkpoint on their commute. This checkpoint isn’t the imposing labyrinth that Checkpoint 300 is, but it still puts Yousef and his daughter up against an unwelcome force: the scrutinizing gaze of a foreign military force. Nabulsi’s short film is the story of the individual ridiculed and othered simply for making the decision to leave their house.

Deliberately paced and told with few stylistic flourishes, The Present is a sobering look at the day-to-day prejudices that are embedded in casual but scrupulous procedures, “be suspicious of everyone” protocols. It is a film about “human dignity and freedom of movement,” as Nabulsi herself stated when introducing her film at the Palm Springs International ShortFest. Border crossings and checkpoints have always been hotly contested arenas in which world-stage politics are played out, but when they become what prevent a father from going shopping with his daughter, they couldn’t appear more trivial and backwards. The director keeps her story as simple and as straightforward as possible, so that the viewer may fill in the rest of the world around the characters with their questions. Whether you are familiar with the conflicts in the West Bank territory or not, it is clear that Nabulsi—a Palestinian refugee herself—is encouraging you to do some inquiries into the issue on your own time.

Beyond the food for thought being offered, The Present is a fantastic showcase for the restrained but powerful acting talents of Saleh Bakri and even Mariam Kanj, who does some very accomplished work as the young Yasmine. They are aided by an appropriately un-flowery script, which does a lot with a little and never draws your attention towards the fabricated nature of the words. Some more work could have been done to illustrate the Mediterranean setting and bring us further into world occupied by the young family, but simplicity is clearly Nabulsi’s pedigree, and it is clear that this family is meant to be a stand-in for Palestinians the region over. This film is a microcosm of the experiences undoubtedly faced every day, and that makes it a powerful snapshot of the humanity some of us sacrifice just to buy our eggs for the week. This is an urgent short film that begs your attention.

The Present was screened as part of the 16th annual HollyShorts Film Festival, which runs online from November 9th until November 16th. It screened earlier this year at the Palm Springs International ShortFest and the Short Shorts Film Festival in Japan, where it picked up audience awards and further acclaim.

HOLLYSHORTS 2020 | "The Present" Short Film Review