Interview: Scandar Copti – A Childhood (Work in Progress)

Known for blurring the boundaries between fiction and documentary, Palestinian filmmaker Scandar Copti crafts work that moves fluidly between lived reality and constructed narrative. At last year’s Marrakech Film Festival his Happy Holidays (premiered in the Orizzonti section of the Venice International Film Festival just months prior) was feted. His latest project in development (winner of the Atlas development prize) a hybrid documentary tracing Palestinian children growing up under Israeli occupation, where play and safety are continually disrupted by systems of control. A film that will collect and chart testimonies and footage gathered before the current assault on Gaza, I had the chance to have a quick chat about A Childhood.