Diaries of an impasse: the video works of Basma Alsharif

This article offers a new reading of Basma Alsharif’s work explored through the form of diary film. By problematizing the term ‘post- Palestinian’ with which Alsharif’s practice has been described, the author foregrounds the limits of post-language in attending to Alsharif’s treatment of home in her two short films We Began by Measuring Distance (2009) and Home Movies Gaza (2013). Lauren Berlant’s theorization (see Cruel Optimisim , 2011) of the impasse serves as a key companion to probing the critical capacity of Alsharif’s films in revisiting certain attachments to the concept of home in relation to Palestine and in exploring other affective binds that foster collective rehearsals towards liberation.