Palestine. 2073. As the country celebrates one year since its liberation, Hajar grieves all that is lost—hope for real change and the death of her friend. She was sold a lie, a dream and in her despair, Hajar is torn between confronting the reality of the world left behind or finding a radical way to escape it.
‘Not Dead But Sleeping’ is a film about two women whose worlds collide as they confront grief and betrayal. Bilqis is the child of Syrian migrants who find refuge in Swedish Lapland. Hajar is an idealistic young Palestinian who fights in a war of liberation that her people win. However, both their worlds soon come crumbling down when they realise the dreams they were promised were built on lies. Bilqis’ family have their asylum claim rejected after four years of living in Sweden. For Hajar, the promise of a free Palestine is never realised, and the pain of the sacrifice her best friend made becomes unbearable.
