Das erste Meer / The First Sea

The sea is just 40 kilometres away from their house in the West Bank, but the closed border to Israel means it is inaccessible to Wafaa and Raneen until, that is, a group of peace activists organise a trip to the coast of Tel Aviv. Wafaa is excited about her first visit to Israel. Raneen, however, will not accompany her, as she refuses to accept an invitation from anybody occupying her family’s country. Despite such sceptical voices, the packed coach travels over the border to the beach, and the Palestinian guests are soon splashing around in the cool water with their Israeli hosts. Meanwhile, with only a view over the huge wall to Israel, Raneen takes to protesting through her village. Documentary filmmaker Clara Trischler not only presents the problems of the Israeli settlement policy from a new and unusual perspective, but also highlights the contrariness of pro-Palestinian projects.