Elia Suleiman

Elia Suleiman escapes from Palestine seeking an alternative homeland, only to find that Palestine is trailing behind him. The promise of a new life turns into a comedy of errors: however far he travels, from Paris to New York, something always reminds him of home. From award-winning director Elia Suleiman, a comic saga exploring identity, nationality and belonging, in which Suleiman asks the fundamental question: where is the place we can truly call home?

"The Time That Remains" is a semi-autobiographical film, in four episodes, about a family, my family, from 1948 until recent times. The film is inspired by my father's private diaries, starting from when he was a resistance fighter in 1948, and by my mother's letters to family members who were forced to leave the country. Combined with my intimate memories of them and with them, the film attempts to portray the daily life of those Palestinians who remained and were labelled "Israeli-Arabs", living as a minority in their own homeland.

A contemporary portrait of this eclectic, vital, unique city, told through a movie made of 7 chapters, directed by 7 internationally acclaimed directors. Each chapter depicts a day of the week through the extraordinary lives of its characters. A world away from the familiar clichés, the film aims to express the soul of Havana and its diversity in a touching, entertaining and funny style. All seven stories have independent plots, but the connections between them create a powerful dramatic unity. Emblematic Havana landmarks form the backdrop to the chapters in which several characters appear more than once, organically connecting the narratives and demonstrating that in Havana all social spheres intersect.