An immersive documentary in collaboration with
Jaber 'Ali Dababseh, Jamal Hreizat, 'Alya Mleihat
and their families
Raj'in We Shall Return
Created by Faiz Abu Rmeleh & Keren Manor
Co-produced by B'Tselem and award-winning XR studio NowHere Media, Raj'in ('We Shall Return') will premiere in Venice Immersive as part of the 83rd Venice International Film Festival in September 2026.
Venice Immersive — World Premiere
83rd Venice International Film Festival
September 2026 — Venice, Italy
About the Film
Raj'in (We Shall Return) is an immersive documentary capturing the ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in the West Bank by Israeli settler militias and the state.
Filmed over three years, 'We Shall Return' documents Israel's ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in the West Bank through the stories of over 11 Palestinian communities facing forcible transfer, using a visceral blend of 360° cinematography and raw phone and handycam footage filmed by Palestinian residents and Protective Present activists. The narrative follows three protagonists at different stages of dispossession: Jaber, who remains on his land despite continued attacks and home demolitions, 'Alya, who has endured multiple displacements; and the Hreizat family, who were forced to dismantle their home and move. By juxtaposing daily life with the violence of settler militias and Israeli forces, the film reveals a landscape and people under constant threat and a policy aimed at eliminating Palestinian existence. It is a haunting, unfiltered record of a world being erased, subtly framed by the very intimidation the film crew faced to capture this reality.
The film's Arabic title, Raj'in ('We Shall Return'), comes from graffiti sprayed by one of its protagonists, 'Alya, on her home before she was forced to leave. The phrase also appears in a poem she wrote, reflecting the concept of Sumud — Palestinian steadfastness and the determination to remain on the land despite ongoing displacement since the 1948 Nakba.
Our partners NowHere Media joined the project as co-producers in the fall of 2025 and supported us in sifting through three years of extensive footage. They collaborated to shape the narrative from initial storyboarding through to editing, post-production and sound design. Drawing on their expertise in immersive storytelling, they helped bring the reality faced by Palestinian communities in the West Bank to life.
Our deepest gratitude goes to the residents of the communities we documented, who welcomed us into their homes and entrusted us with their stories during moments of profound uncertainty and fear. We also thank the Protective Presence activists who dedicate their lives to standing alongside these communities and documenting the devastating reality they face every day.
Gallery
Press
Press contact, B'Tselem: yaird@btselem.org
Press contact, NowHere Media: daisy@nowheremedia.net
Screenings
- Venice, Italy 2nd – 12th September 2026 Venice Immersive, the XR — Extended Reality section of the 83rd Venice International Film Festival of La Biennale di Venezia.
Credits
- Cinematography
- Faiz Abu Rmeleh & Keren Manor
- Executive Producers, NowHere Media
- Felix Gaedtke & Gayatri Parameswaran
- Executive Producers, B'Tselem
- Ehab Tarabieh
- Written by
- Keren Manor & Gayatri Parameswaran
- Poem by
- 'Alya Mleihat
- Assistant Producer, NowHere Media
- Olha Tsybulska
- Video Editing
- Keren Manor & Christian Möller
- Post Production
- Jan Burghardt
- Graphic Designer
- Margarita Gehl
- Sound Design & Music Composition
- Billy Mello
- Sound Recording
- Faiz Abu Rmeleh
- Additional 360 Footage
- Sarit Michaeli & Avishay Mohar
- Additional Footage
- Eid al-Hathaleen
Tareq al-Hathaleen
Adala Khalil
Roman Levin
Ali Rashed
ISM
Jordan Valley activists
Looking the Occupation in the Eye
Masafer Yatta activists
Residents of the communities - Film Crew
- Amer Arouri
Aref Deraghmeh
Omri Eran Vardi
Yasmin Eran Vardi
Natalia Katz
Nasser Nawaj'ah
Mohamad Romaneh - Voice Over Actors (English)
- As Suliman 'Ali Dawabseh — Yassir Abdel-Hafez
As 'Alya Mleihat — Maryam Abu Khaled
As Muhammad Ragheb Dawabseh — Abed Abu Rmeleh
As Faiz Abu Rmeleh — Faiz Abu Rmeleh
As Nur al-Huda Hreizat — Raya Abu Rmeleh
As Fatemah Hreaizat — Asia Alkharouf
As Jaber 'Ali Dawabseh — Dibs Amr (name changed for safety)
As Rayan 'Ali Dawabseh — Shukri 'Ashu
As Ritan 'Ali Dawabseh — Jamal Dajani
As 'Aeshah Hzeirat — Nour Manor Lauken
As settler — Shaul Mograbi Berger
As Lamar Hreizat — Nahla Mujahed
Previous Films by B'Tselem
- Of Land and Bread (2019) — premiered at IDFA
- The Boy from H2 (2017) — screened at the Vienna Shorts Festival
- Smile, and the World Will Smile Back (2014)