A Documentary Film
Far from Maine
Nothing started on October 7th, but everything has changed since.
Directed by R O Y C O H E N
Nothing started on October 7th, but everything has changed since.
Israeli filmmaker Roy Cohen revisits the memory of Aseel Aslih, his Palestinian friend and fellow activist, murdered by Israeli police in October 2000 at the age of seventeen. The two had met as teenagers at the Seeds of Peace camp in Maine, where they forged a friendship grounded in curiosity, humor, and a shared belief in peace based on justice and equality — ideals that seem impossible today.
Blending archival footage, personal reflection, and present-day encounters, Cohen composes a letter to his lost friend, seeking moral guidance in the face of escalating violence and injustice. As past and present enter into conversation, the film becomes both an act of remembrance and a wider meditation on grief, accountability, and belonging.
Setting the optimism of their youth against the genocide unfolding today, Far from Maine is an exploration of friendship, memory, and the struggle to hold onto hope under impossible circumstances.
In the last 25 years, I have constantly talked to him in my head.
In this film, I am trying to express the feelings and thoughts that I have towards Israeli society and the possibility of a future here as an activist against the occupation and as a queer Israeli man of Arab-Jewish descent.
My personal journey goes through a peace camp in Maine, where I met Palestinians like Aseel Aslih. That experience made me realize that I could only know the truth by understanding perspectives that are silenced in my society. This lesson has never been so important as in this time of genocide.
I have felt helplessness in the face of my country's brutality towards Palestinians, like I had when Aseel was shot to death by Israeli police in 2000. This film has been the process of discovering what meaningful action could mean for me. And I have no doubt that Aseel inspired it.
In speaking with Aseel in the film, I am bringing back his voice, which may inspire others to find ways to be active, resilient and at times hopeful about the future in Israel-Palestine and in their own part of the world, troubled and oppressed as it may be.
Far from Maine offers an Israeli insider's point of view into his society after October 7th, 2023. It meditates on what Arab-Jewish coexistence could mean not only during this time, but also looking backwards at the last three decades in Israel-Palestine.
Different Palestinian participants in the film provide their own perspective and insight into recent history. The experiences of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Israel, and in exile are all given in first person. Greater historic moments in the region are given context and brought to life with high-quality archive.
The film can serve as a platform for discussion both for those well-acquainted with the discourse about the region and those who are new to it. To request a screening license or educational materials, please contact us.
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