Video: Larissa Sansour, creating a Palestinian state with science fiction

In an exhibition in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Larissa Sansour showcases her short film titled Nation Estate.

Sansour, a visual artist from Bethlehem, depicts a sci-fi view what a Palestinian state might look like in the future. For decades, Palestinians have been showcased to the world as victims through documentaries and news clips. Sansour, while holding a firm conviction in the just cause of Palestine, believes that a creative new spin on its composition may foster a renewed sense of understanding for the generations who have grown weary of the age-old tragedy.

In Sansour's work, people are shown travelling to different cities by pressing buttons in an elevator, each city being on a different floor. The camera pans out to present the state as an immense skyscraper surrounded on both sides by Israeli military watchtowers and the Separation Wall.

“It is very much a comment on [Israeli] settlements and the fact that Palestinians are constantly having their lands taken,” Sansour said.

The artist, who works with different installations of photography and film, uses science fiction to re-engage viewers on Palestinian political topics that have become repetitive and mired in ruin.