For six years the Tel Aviv-based Iris Hassid followed the day-to-day life of four young Palestinian women, citizens of Israel, who are part of a recent surge in the young generation of Arab female students. Engaging in spontaneous, pleasurable and often thought-provoking conversations, she recorded Samar, a fresh graduate of film school from Nazareth; her cousin Saja, studying psychology, also from Nazareth; Majdoleen, studying architecture, from Kafr Kanna; and Aya, studying social work and gender studies, from Kafr Qara. Fragments of those conversations appear in the book.

“It was refreshing to hear Arabic being spoken in my neighbourhood by a new generation of young and self-confident women, so different from how they are portrayed in the media. Why do we label people by their languages, names, accents, looks and nationalities? This project does not claim to faithfully document their lives, nor does it pretend to show true moments: it should be seen as a collaboration between them and me.”