Ireland on Sunday is our monthly showcase for new Irish film.

 This absorbing documentary tells the epic story of Majdal Shams, one of the few remaining Arab villages in the Israeli occupied Golan Heights. Filmed over three years from 2009 to 2012, Irish filmmakers Keith Walsh and Jill Beardsworth immersed themselves in the community full of apple growers, rappers, salsa dancers, holy men, traitors, lovers, freedom fighters and their heartbroken mothers, set against the backdrop of the revolution raging in their homeland Syria as it creeps through the orchards, towards their homes in Israel. 

The film’s narrative is made up of a multitude of characters that together convey the complex nature of their existence. What unfolds is a story of death, separation, war, torture, mines, love, nationalism and the apple trees that provide a livelihood and root the people to the land. 

Directors Jill Beardsworth and Keith Walsh will participate in a post-screening Q&A.