Screwdriver

Psychological thriller about Palestinian Ziad, who returns to Palestine after more than fifteen years spent in an Israeli prison. He was arrested as a teenager, and finds it difficult to find his place in society now that he is an adult. Palestinians see him as a hero, but that’s not how he feels. He wonders whether his actions make any difference whatsoever.

As a teenager, Ziad was arrested for the alleged killing of an Israeli settler. He is released and welcomed back as a hero after having spent fifteen years in prison. Yet Ziad has difficulty considering himself a hero and adapting to ‘ordinary life’. Everything has changed: his former friends have moved on, technology has made progress and he has no education and no goal. And on top of that, he has to deal with traumas and psychological problems resulting from his childhood and long-term detention.

Director Bassam Jarbawi shot his first feature film on the West Bank, using an almost entirely Palestinian crew, to investigate the invisible, mental impact of violence and constant tension as part of the armed conflict between Israel and Palestine.