A State of Rage

In the West Bank, children grow up amidst a harsh and unforgiving reality. Daily life for Palestinians in Jenin Refugee Camp is shaped by the Israeli occupation, and the violence and oppression that comes with it. On the hills near Nablus, a Jewish settler family navigate the personal sacrifices and grief that come with their decision to live in an illegal settlement. They are resolute in their belief to remove Palestinians and settle the land. A State of Rage follows children and their parents from both these areas as they search for their place in a world defined by violence and polarization.

Jena, a ten-year-old girl, lives with her family in the Jenin Refugee Camp, home to Palestinians expelled from their land when Israel was created, Palestinian armed resistance groups now live there too. In this densely populated area, civilians and militants live side by side. Since the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, Israeli military raids in the West Bank have intensified, deepening the devastation. Jena witnesses the destruction daily, hears the airstrikes and gunfire, and lives in constant fear.

Sixteen-year-old Renana belongs to a religious settler community in the illegal outpost of Havat Gilad. Her father, a rabbi, was killed by members of the Palestinian Jenin Brigades—an event that profoundly changed her. Now she is driven by a fierce conviction in her right to claim and defend the land, a stance that troubles her mother.

Through their eyes, we observe the profound impact of growing up in an environment saturated with oppression and rage, and the complex effect it has on the human spirit. Over the course of several months, Mettelsiefen immerses himself in the lives of these girls and their families, capturing their emotional realities as the conflict unfolds around them. A State of Rage offers a deeply moving exploration of the personal cost of this ongoing war and its imprint on the next generation – and an unflinching portrayal of both Palestinian refugees and Jewish settlers—through the perspectives of children and young people who bear the brunt of the conflict’s emotional toll.