Once a thriving Palestinian city, Lyd was even considered Palestine’s first capital in 636 AD. In 1948, Lyd became an Israeli city, leading to the deaths of hundreds of Palestinian residents and the exile of most of its 50,000 Palestinians by Israeli forces. Today, the city has a Jewish Israeli majority and a Palestinian minority and is disinvested and divided by racism and violence. For Palestinians, Lyd’s story is a painful and tragic fall from grace. The film dares to ask the question: what would the city be like had the Israeli occupation of Lyd never happened?

The city explains that the massacre and expulsion have fractured her reality, and now there are two Lyds – one occupied and one free. Documentary portions follow characters through their daily lives, portraying the Palestinian experience of this city, while vivid animations envision an alternate reality where the same characters are free from trauma and violence. With its transition between fantastical and documentary realities, it ultimately leaves the viewer questioning which future should prevail.