The acclaimed Palestinian actor and filmmaker Mohammad Bakri died at 72 in northern Israel on Christmas Eve. He appeared in more than 40 films and directed documentaries highlighting the experiences of Palestinians living under occupation. He was best known for his 2002 documentary, “Jenin, Jenin,” featuring the voices of Palestinians in the Jenin refugee camp following a devastating Israeli military operation that killed 52 Palestinians. In 2007, Bakri spoke to Democracy Now! about interviewing survivors of the Jenin massacre.

Mohammad Bakri: “They wanted to tell their stories, because they were still in shock. When I came in Jenin, I was shocked with what I saw. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t feel. I was really just humiliated as a human being, not as a Palestinian, not as a director, not as an actor, just as a human. How come people can do such things like that in the camp?”