Cineforum non conveniens: quale diritto internazionale cercare nel cinema e quale no

This short paper questions the methodological expedients that should govern the interdisciplinary encounter between international law scholars and cinematic material, for research rather than didactic purposes. It first explains why such an encounter has so far failed to produce satisfying results. It then puts forward four maxims (attention to detail, idiographic approach, serendipity and presumption of anti-realism) that could open up other and more fruitful avenues of investigation. Finally, it applies this methodology to an analysis of the documentary film 'Broken: A Palestinian Journey Through International Law' (2018) by Mohammed Alatar.