What you need to know

A five-part documentary series (each 45–60 minutes) plus a standalone short film (18–22 minutes) examining the Palestine-Israel conflict through human stories, historical context, and lived experience. The series moves chronologically: The Past, The Palestinian Perspective, The Connect, The Present, and The Future.

Most coverage takes a side or reduces the conflict to politics. This series centres the human cost — the idea that ordinary people are fundamentally good but have been failed by leaders and governments. It presents Palestinian and Israeli civilian voices with equal dignity, avoids propaganda framing, and uses archival material, on-the-ground interviews, and data-driven storytelling. For a deeper look at what this project is and isn’t, see What This Is Not.

True Illusions, an independent production company. The project is directed by Abbas Holcroft and operates with full editorial independence — no state funding, no corporate sponsors, no editorial strings attached.

The target launch is May 15, 2026 — Nakba Day — chosen deliberately. The short film will be released first, followed by the five-part series on a weekly schedule.

The short film serves as a condensed emotional entry point — a self-contained piece that captures the thesis of the entire series in under 22 minutes. It’s designed to work as both a standalone piece and an invitation into the full series.

The full production budget is £250,000. This covers field production across multiple locations, archive licensing, post-production, sound design, original score, translation into Arabic and Hebrew, distribution, and a contingency fund.

Every pound is allocated to production. The three milestone tiers are: £70,000 for field production (crew, equipment, travel, interviews), £170,000 adding post-production and archive licensing, and £250,000 completing the full budget including distribution, translation, and contingency.

We publish a live funding tracker on the site showing total raised, recent contributions, and milestone progress. Budget line items are transparent. All funds are held in a dedicated production account. A full financial breakdown will be available to founding funders upon request.

The project is structured in phases. At £70,000, field production begins. At £170,000, post-production is fully funded. If we reach £170k but not the full £250k, we would adjust distribution scope and defer some translation — the core documentary still gets made. Below £70k, funds would be held and donors contacted about options including refunds. See our Funding Responsibility Statement for full details.

Donations are non-refundable once production begins. However, if the project does not proceed to production, all donors will be contacted with options including full refunds. This commitment is detailed in our Funding Responsibility Statement. However any reserved funds will be reallocated to True Illusions productions.

Community members can vote on which narrators they’d like to see guide the series. This isn’t a popularity contest — it’s a way of giving the audience genuine participation in the creative process. The production team makes the final decision, informed by community input.

Create a free account on the site. Community members can vote on narrator choices, access behind-the-scenes updates, participate in discussions, and join volunteer initiatives.

Yes. We’re looking for translators (Arabic, Hebrew, French, Spanish), researchers with expertise in the region, and community organisers for screening events. Visit the Collaborate page.

The series will be available for free online. We believe this story should have no paywall. Distribution details — including potential festival screenings and platform partnerships — will be announced closer to launch.

Yes. The budget includes professional translation and subtitling in Arabic and Hebrew as a minimum, with additional languages (French, Spanish) dependent on funding.

We’re committed to full captions/subtitles, audio description tracks, and ensuring our web player meets WCAG 2.1 AA standards. Accessibility is a production line item, not an afterthought.

The production team, led by the director. No funder, sponsor, or institutional body has editorial influence. This is the core principle: the film is funded by its audience, accountable to the story, and beholden to no one.

It presents human stories with honesty and dignity. That means Palestinian voices, Israeli voices, historians, journalists, and civilians — all treated as people first. The series doesn’t equivocate on documented facts or international law, but it also doesn’t reduce anyone to a caricature.

With care. The series addresses war, displacement, and loss — but it doesn’t exploit trauma for spectacle. Content warnings are provided where appropriate. The goal is understanding, not shock.