Sebastia
Sebastia, a small archaeological town, sits on top of a hill Northwest of Nablus, Palestine surrounded by Shavei Shomron, an illegal Israeli settlement and confiscated agricultural fields of olive groves and apricot trees. This ancient site was excavated multiple times over the last century by colonial archaeologists funded by Zionist individuals and institutions. The first excavation of 1908 led by Harvard University took advantage of Sebastia locals including women, men, and children as cheap labor digging their own land for the sake of biblical archaeology. Each excavation extracted soil and artifacts from the ground, taking what they considered valuable to their home institutions and leaving pottery shards and rubble on the surface. Today, what’s left of the archaeological monuments is contested by the nearby settlement as well as the Israeli military. The Roman Forum is a battlefield, but the locals are incredibly resilient.
Top Cast
Zaid Azhari
as Self (historian and tour guide from Sebastia)
Self (historian and tour guide from Sebastia)
Muhammad Azem
as Self (mayor of Sebastia)
Self (mayor of Sebastia)

Moshe Dayan
as Self (archive)
Self (archive)
More Like This

Flying Paper
2014 • Movie

Exodus 1947
1997 • Movie

Lakota Nation vs. United States
2022 • Movie

Gaza Souvenirs
2008 • Movie

Palestine Chronicle
2001 • Movie

Cleopatra: Portrait of a Killer
2009 • Movie

The Olive Tree
1976 • Movie

Ancient Armageddon
2023 • Movie

The Golden Mummy
2018 • Movie

Africa in Pieces: The Tragedy of the Great Lakes
2000 • Movie

Cleopatra's Final Secret
2025 • Movie

The Settlers
2016 • Movie

The Act of Killing
2012 • Movie

Sardinia, The Mysterious Civilization of The Nuraghi
2024 • Movie

Lyd
2023 • Movie