Director's Statement

Jaffa, the orange’s clockwork is a political essay unfolding the story of the invention and the visual history of the world’s wide famous citrus fruit originated in Palestine and known around the world as "Jaffa oranges". While the orange become the symbol of the Zionist enterprise and the state of Israel, for Palestinians it symbolises the lost of their homeland and its destruction. Through a carful reading of the visual representation of the brand, the film reflects on western phantasms related to the ‘Orient’ the ‘holy land’ and the State of Israel and unveils the untold story of what was ones a commune symbol and industry to Arabs and Jews in Palestine.

The oranges of Jaffa, the fruits, the orchards, the brand name and the city - that gave to the fruit its name, reveal the commune Jewish-Arab life in Palestine before the establishment of Israel, the colonial covetousness, the obliteration of community, nationalization, and then repudiation of Palestinianess. This period of the Jaffa orchards is the backdrop to propose a joint historical narrative. A brand of hope for the future. (Eyal Sivan)