From Ramallah to Jenin, Palestine Comedy Club captures the journey of comedians touring their homeland amid Israeli occupation

Sometimes, laughter is the only way to keep from crying, and no one understands this better than a Palestinian. After seventy-seven years of brutal occupation, ethnic cleansing, and oppression, which continue to this day, pain and suffering remain central to the narratives emerging from the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Still, Alaa Aaliabdallah's heartwarming documentary Palestine Comedy Club arrives to put a smile on audiences' faces – even if a few tears are shed along the way.

The film follows a troupe of stand-up comedians in 2022 as they tour their comedy show across Palestine, from Ramallah and Nablus to Jerusalem and Jenin, with various towns and villages in between.

The comics include Hanna Shammas, Diana Swity, Ebaa Monther, Khalil Al Batran, Raed Al-Shyoukhi, and artistic director Alaa Shehada, who co-founded Palestine Comedy Club with Dr Sam Beale, a British comedy director, writer, and researcher, and Charlotte Knowles, a film and TV producer who also produced the documentary.

As the originator of the group, Alaa is the film's central protagonist. Bright, witty, and often heartfelt narration accompanies the story as Alaa introduces the key players. A touch of self-deprecation contrasts with his evident confidence – a trait clearly inherited from his supportive and witty mother, who shares a story about stealing a watermelon. The moment had the audience laughing at the Rich Mix, where the film premiered as part of SXSW London.

Despite the jokes about Alaa’s unmarried status, Alaa captures the underlying maternal fear of her son leaving home, whether because of his career or the constant danger of being Palestinian. This fear is central to much of the film’s emotional weight.

These Palestinians seek creative autonomy amidst a cloud of anxiety and inequality. Each comedian gets time to reflect on their personal experience and artistic interpretations of resistance.

Alaa captures rehearsals, performances, and audience reactions with intimacy, revealing the intricacies of navigating the tour's complexities. The film offers an intriguing glimpse into how comedians tailor their sets to cater to specific audiences.

A joke’s success or failure is often determined by audience reaction, and some shows – like one in Jerusalem – prove particularly difficult to please. Candid conversations between the comedians, on buses and during their downtime, reveal the emotional toll of staying open and authentic in a society that doesn't always welcome it.

Ebba, a Syrian-Arab from the Israeli-occupied Golan, who incorporates musical parody into her set, gets emotional when discussing whether a particular joke can be told in a more conservative stop on the tour.

"I am a free woman, I am wild and bad," she declares, but laments the filters she must apply to be accepted and avoid being ostracised by her community.

Hanna, a Palestinian based in Haifa with Israeli citizenship, uses the repeated motif of "I'm sorry" to highlight the uneasy privilege he has compared to his West Bank-based peers, where freedom of movement is much more restricted. This disparity is made clear when the tour bus arrives at an Israeli checkpoint, forcing Alaa, Diana, Khalil, Raed, and even the film’s director to disembark and undergo separate processing.

The moment is a stark reminder of the bureaucratic struggles faced by Palestinians in a system that treats them as second-class, even third-class, citizens. But these are comedians, and there’s a sigh of relief when, hours later, the group is seen rounding a corner, wearing matching bucket hats from the checkpoint gift shop.

The final third of the film takes place against the backdrop of 7 October, and the subsequent battle for survival faced by those in Gaza, the West Bank, and Israeli-occupied areas, where speaking freely risks one’s freedom.

Ebba has since moved to Berlin. Hanna’s friends, who have spoken out against the regime, have been arrested. The economy in Diana’s town has been decimated. Alaa has come to London to escape the destruction, raise awareness, and continue his comedy career. His shows are performing well, but his mother wants him to stay in the UK, despite her wish for him to return home.

For many comedians, the stage is a safe space to be who they are. For these comedians, Palestine Comedy Club has provided them with some control over their lives. But this delightful documentary proves that their form of entertainment is more than simply turning pain into punchlines – it’s using humour to inspire hope for a better future in their homeland and beyond.

Hanna Flint is a British-Tunisian critic, broadcaster and author of Strong Female Character: What Movies Teach Us. Her reviews, interviews and features have appeared in GQ, the Guardian, Elle, Town & Country, Mashable, Radio Times, MTV, Time Out, The New Arab, Empire, BBC Culture and elsewhere

Follow her on Instagram: @hannainesflint