By Lydia Chen
The 19th Annual Boston Palestine Film Festival, running October 17–26, opened with Thank You for Banking With Us, the debut feature from Palestinian filmmaker, director, and screenwriter Laila Abbas. The film has already gained major international acclaim, winning Best Film at the 2024 Golden Rooster International Competition, Best Director at the Thessaloniki Film Festival 2024, and Best Arab Narrative Film at El Gouna Film Festival 2024, while also receiving a Best Film nomination at the 2024 London Film Festival.
Inspired by real-life family experiences, Abbas tackles the issue of gender inequality in inheritance laws through fictional characters, transforming personal frustration into a story meant to resonate with women worldwide. Even the title was born from a moment of everyday observation — the automated message on an ATM screen.
Beyond the film itself, Abbas shared candid advice for emerging filmmakers: be patient with the long journey from writing to funding, treat titles as part of marketing, attend festivals even when it feels intimidating, and accept that criticism is inevitable.
For Abbas, filmmaking is ultimately about honesty — listening, observing, and telling stories rooted in lived experience.
