Palestinian filmmaker Rashid Masharawi opens Cairo Film Festival with the world premiere of his new film “Passing Dreams” – the most unusual of genres: the Palestinian road movie.

The film tells the story of 12-year-old Sami (Adel Abu Ayyash), who lives in a refugee camp in the West Bank. His father is in prison and his carrier pigeon has flown away, so he sets off for Bethlehem to ask his uncle (Ashraf Barhom) to help him find the lost bird.

Although the film does not shy away from the realities of life in the Occupied Territories, it remains optimistic. Masharawi also agrees Diversity On the eve of the festival: “Where there is no hope, cinema has to invent it, just to show it to the public, to make them touch it, to believe it, because this is also part of our resistance. “After all these years of occupation, we still have hope, because we love tomorrow.”

Unsurprisingly, shooting on real locations in the West Bank, Bethlehem, Jerusalem’s old city, and Haifa was challenging: “It’s very difficult for Palestinian filmmakers to make a cut (film). Everything has to be planned in advance because of the lighting, actors and people coming from outside Palestine. You always have plan A, plan B and plan C. “Most of the time we are on plan B or C.”

Transporting cast and crew between locations was difficult. “They come from different places and everyone needs different permits to move from one place to another. We are filming without permission from Israeli authorities. And everyone’s mood can change because anything can happen and everything was happening during the shoot.”

What happened was the conflict in Gaza, where Masharawi was born and where his family had fled Jaffa. “I was born in Gaza in 1962. My first memory was of a war. I lived between checkpoints. It was part of the landscape. To reach Bethlehem, I had to pass through three checkpoints; “It was an hour’s drive.”

However, the use of real locations was vital, primarily for Palestinian audiences. “They know these places; which route they should follow and checkpoints. I don’t want to take postcard-like shots. I want to be practical by going from A to B and showing a view. Even though I was in Bethlehem, one of the most important touristic places in the world, I was torn between showing off the beauties but not exploring them like a tourist. “Our characters are passing through because they are on their way to another place.”

Although Masharawi cares deeply about Gaza (earlier this year he produced “Froground Zero,” an anthology of short films shot during the ongoing conflict), he insists on his role as a filmmaker first and foremost. As a director whose films have appeared in many festivals, including Venice and Cannes, he is happy to open Cairo for his films rather than any political point. “I’m not looking for any solidarity because of the political situation: I want everyone to be interested in us as filmmakers. “I love cinema before I became an Arab, a Palestinian or a Gazan.”