Cristina Maurelli: “We Wanted to Talk About Palestine Through Different Eyes”

They Were Nomads, a documentary short co-directed by Cristina Maurelli and Carlo Concino, takes us into the little-known world of the indigenous Bedouin of Palestine. A proud people who try to remain solid and united despite the radical transformations they have been forced to undergo, the Bedouin suffer particularly from the loss of their identity, forced to become sedentary. The film is a unique testimony and chronicles a community that normally has no voice and a way of life that has be challenged by attempted erasure.

We spoke with Maurelli about the motivation for making the film and the filmmakers’ experiences with the Bedouin community that lives between Jerusalem and Jericho in the occupied West Bank.