The long journey of Palestinian director Ameen Nayfeh’s ‘200 Meters’

BEIRUT: When Palestinian director Ameen Nayfeh walked on stage at El Gouna Film Festival late last month, it was a moment of personal and professional triumph. It had taken him and producer May Odeh seven years to bring his debut feature, “200 Meters,” to life. And yet, here they were, collecting the first of three awards at the festival and basking in the cinematic spotlight. Odeh in particular was euphoric. Jumping around on stage at one point during the festival’s closing ceremony, she knew all too well the challenges they had both faced. Turned down for funding at what seemed like every turn, they had even considered throwing in the towel after failing to secure financing from Cairo Film Connection in 2016. “We were getting nowhere,” admits Nayfeh, who grew up near Tulkarm in the West Bank. “I was always receiving interest from people when I talked about the film — ‘It’s a nice story.’ ‘It’s important to tell’ et cetera — but maybe they didn’t think I was the right person to tell i...