Director Julia Bacha pieces together a lovely film exploring the evolution of the West Bank village of Budrus’ resistance to Israel’s wall, and its reclaiming of its destiny. Jimmy Johnson reviews for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about The story of a people's resistance told in "Budrus" 

Why migrate? What do you leave when you do? What’s waiting for you? How do you bring the social construct of “home” with you? Or replace it? And in a collection of such heavy questions, where is there room for marijuana jokes? Director Cherien Dabis’ award-winning feature-length debut Amreeka investigates all of these and much more in an hour and a half of marvelous cinema. Jimmy Johnson writes for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Cherien Dabis' journey to "Amreeka" 

One of a filmmaker’s primary roles in any inquiry is to illuminate the topic of the narrative through entertainment, information, posing challenges or any other kind of engagement. Simone Bitton’s Rachel, a new documentary about the death of International Solidarity Movement activist Rachel Corrie, struggles to do this. Jimmy Johnson reviews for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Film Review: Simone Bitton's investigative documentary, "Rachel" 

Sometime early this decade the Israeli army issued a military order banning Palestinian musicians from using simile and metaphors. This order also prevented them from singing about anything but the occupation. Ok, that’s not actually true. But if your only contact with Palestinian music was through the documentary Checkpoint Rock you could be forgiven for coming to that conclusion. Jimmy Johnson reviews for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Film review: Missed opportunities in "Checkpoint Rock" 

Edward Salem’s is not a conventional documentary in the sense that it doesn’t offer any one or series of narratives for the audience to follow. Impunity is instead best appreciated as a profound ethnography on the coping mechanisms of a people under siege and in the aftermath of the massive destruction of Operation Cast Lead. Jimmy Johnson writes for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Film review: Uncovering truth and humor in Edward Salem's "Impunity" 

Pomegranates and Myrrh is a solid exploration of the walls — internal and external — built up under conditions of extraordinary stress. It’s also about struggle and liberation, both on the personal and political levels. Jimmy Johnson reviews for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Film review: Choreographed struggle in "Pomegranates and Myrrh"