Dheisheh camp was established in 1949, after the expulsion and flight of more than 750,000 Palestinians following the creation of the state of Israel. Those that fled to Dheisheh originated from 45 villages west of Jerusalem and Hebron, the descendants of whom comprise the 12,000 inhabitants of the camp today. A resilient and active community, Dheisheh has a long history of struggle against oppression. Until the Israeli army’s withdrawal in 1995, the camp was surrounded with a high barbed-wire fence. Soldiers and violent confrontations filled the alleys, killing tens of residents, while hundreds were injured, imprisoned and disabled for life. During the peace process years, the worsening plight of refugees was largely ignored in the negotiation framework, bringing a sense of stagnation and desperation to the community. Since the second Intifada (Palestinian uprising) began in September 2000, Dheisheh has been continuously besieged and invaded by the Israeli army, and losing a number of its residents in the violence.

The Children of Ibdaa: To Create Something Out of Nothing (30 minutes. 2002) is a poetic documentation of the Ibdaa Dance Troupe, life in Dheisheh camp, and the Palestinian history, struggle, and aspirations.

Greetings From Palestine chronicles the members of the Ibdaa danced troupe and the Dheisheh camp community during an intense period of curfew in the summer of 2002.