WELCOME TO THE CIRCUS IS A STORY ABOUT PALESTINE RARELY TOLD; One of optimism, hope, and the pursuit of a dream in the occupied territories. Set in the West Bank city of Ramallah, The Palestinian Circus School welcomes the LIDO, a circus school from France into their home. In one month, the two schools must come together to create a mobile circus for the children of Palestine.
Travel in the West Bank is an obstacle course of permits and checkpoints. As foreigners, the LIDO will make it through the checkpoints without trouble, but it's not so simple for the Palestinian students. What if not everyone is allowed to travel to the final show in Jerusalem? Will they cancel the show or perform even if the circus is made up entirely of the LIDO?
Occupation plays a defining role in every aspect of daily life. For the Palestinian students, circus is a form of peaceful resistance. Their lives are hard. Instead of surrendering to melancholy and despair, WELCOME TO THE CIRCUS tells the story of overcoming difficult circumstances through the power of art and unity.
WELCOME TO THE CIRCUS IS A STORY ABOUT PALESTINE RARELY TOLD; One of optimism, hope, and the pursuit of a dream in the occupied territories. Set in the West Bank city of Ramallah, The Palestinian Circus School welcomes the LIDO, a circus school from France into their home. In one month, the two schools must come together to create a mobile circus for the children of Palestine.
Travel in the West Bank is an obstacle course of permits and checkpoints. As foreigners, the LIDO will make it through the checkpoints without trouble, but it's not so simple for the Palestinian students. What if not everyone is allowed to travel to the final show in Jerusalem? Will they cancel the show or perform even if the circus is made up entirely of the LIDO?
Occupation plays a defining role in every aspect of daily life. For the Palestinian students, circus is a form of peaceful resistance. Their lives are hard. Instead of surrendering to melancholy and despair, WELCOME TO THE CIRCUS tells the story of overcoming difficult circumstances through the power of art and unity.
Directors: Courtney Coulson
Writers:
Producers: Kerri Lynne Thorp, Rachel Bracker, Zoe Piliafas
Key cast:
Categories:
Student project: No
Completion date: 2015-03-31
Shooting format: HD
Aspect ratio:
Film color: Color
First-time filmmaker: Yes
Country:
Language: