Palestine Film Series

Sundays, April 7, 14, 21, 28, 4-6 pm
Latchis Theater, Brattleboro, Vermont

April 7 – Theme: The Nakba & Its Legacy

Special guest Sarah E. Jenkins, professor of Animation, Creative Arts, and Visual Culture at Hampshire College, will introduce the program.

Framed: The Politics of Stereotypes in the News (2017), 3 min.

Produced by Al Jazeera English; narrated by Sorious Samura, Emmy-winning investigative journalist from Sierra Leone

This animated short describes how "Orientalism," a term coined by renowned Palestinian-American Edward Said, perpetuates myths and creates false narratives about people from other cultures. The film challenges us to "unlearn" stereotypes portrayed in the media.

The Nakba: How Palestinians Were Expelled from their Homes (2023), 16 min.

A documentary by Vox Media; archival photographs, films, documents; interviews; and animation

This film recounts the history of Palestinians starting in the early 1900s when the region was controlled by the Ottoman Empire. It explains how the British joined forces with Arabs to defeat the Ottomans, but then betrayed the Arabs and gave the land to Zionists through the Balfour Declaration. It highlights the massacre at Deir Yassin and explains how hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forcibly displaced from their homes in 1948.

The Tower (2018), 74 min.

Director: Mats Grorud, a Norwegian animator who volunteered in a Palestinian refugee camp near Beirut; co-writer: Dina Matar, chair, Centre for Palestine Studies, University of London

This animated film features a girl named Wardi and her extended family who have lived in a Lebanese refugee camp since her great-grandfather Sidi was forced to flee his home in Galilee in 1948. When Sidi gives Wardi the key to his home, she fears that he has lost hope of returning. She searches for his lost hope by collecting stories from three generations of her family.

April 14 – Theme: Secret Negotiations & Palestinian Resistance

The Oslo Accords: Failure or Betrayal (2023), 21 min.

Project leader: Yumna Patel, Palestine news director, Mondoweiss

When Israeli and Palestinian leaders signed the Oslo Accords in 1993, the agreements offered hope for a "just, lasting and comprehensive peace.” Thirty years later, Palestinians young and old reflect on the false promises of the Accords and resulting impacts on their lives.

The Wanted 18 (2014), 75 min.

Co-directors: Amer Shomali, Palestinian visual artist with family ties to Beit Sahour, and Paul Cowan, Canadian film writer & director

The Wanted 18 tells the true story of Palestinians who bought dairy cows to supply milk for the residents of their town, Beit Sahour. When the Israeli army declares them to be "a threat to national security," the humorous and dramatic search for the cows begins. With interviews and animation, the film illustrates the power of nonviolent resistance to Israeli occupation during the first intifada in the late 1980s.

April 21 – Theme: Life in Occupied Palestine

My Neighborhood (2012), 25 min.

Filmmaker and creative director of Just Vision: Julia Bacha; director/producer/editor: Rebekah Wingert-Jabi

Mohammed El Kurd, an 11-year old boy living in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, comes home from school to find half of his home taken over by Israeli settlers. Forced to live under the same roof, he develops deep feelings of animosity toward them. When Israeli activists join Palestinian residents in protesting the takeovers, Mohammed is surprised and asks himself, “These are Jews?" Together they struggle to stop the evictions.

Rafeef Ziadah: "We Teach Life" (2011), 5 min.

Rafeef Ziadah is a Palestinian-Canadian poet and human rights activist.

Mohammed El-Kurd: "Dispossession, Resistance, Human Rights" (2023), 22 min.

The talk was recorded by the Media Education Fund.

A dozen years after starring in My Neighborhood, Mohammed El-Kurd, now an award-winning writer, poet and correspondent for The Nation magazine and culture editor of Mondoweiss, gave a talk entitled "Understanding Israel/Palestine: Dispossession, Resistance, & Human Rights" at UMass, Amherst, on Nov. 13, 2023, hosted by Students for Justice in Palestine.

Rafeef Ziadah: "Shades of Anger" (2011),  4 min.

The Present (2020), 23 min.

Director, executive producer & co-writer: Farah Nabulsi; producer: Ossama Bawardi; co-writer: Hind Shoufani

On his wedding anniversary, Yusef and his daughter set out to buy a gift for his wife. With soldiers at checkpoints and segregated roads in the West Bank, how easy is it to go shopping? An Academy Award nominee for Best Live Action Short Film, starring acclaimed Palestinian actor Saleh Bakri. According to the director, "At its essence, this is a story about human dignity."

April 28 – Theme: Palestinian Resilience

Made in Palestine (2019), 8 min.

Filmmaker: Mariam Dwedar

Visit the only textile factory in Palestine that weaves keffiyehs, the traditional black-and-white scarves of the Palestinian people. Learn how they have become a symbol for liberation and solidarity. Stroll through the deserted streets of Hebron's Old City to meet the three Hirbawi brothers who proudly carry on their father's business.

Farming Under Fire in Gaza (2018), 10 min.

Filmmaker: Matthew Cassel

Rising before dawn, young Palestinian men head to the fields to harvest onions and parsley. With the border nearby, they have to weigh the danger of Israeli sniper attacks against the need to support their families. At the markets in Gaza, farmers and vendors are hard-pressed to sell their produce for what it’s worth. “We tell ourselves the next year will be better.”

Return to Seifa Village (2014), 16 min.

Directors: Anne Paq & Roger Hill; producers: Nitin Sawhney & Abeer Ahmed

In 2010, Musa, 14, and Widad, 12, were among thousands of Palestinian young people flying kites on a beach in northern Gaza – so many kites that they broke the Guinness World Record for the most in the air at one time. Four years later, Israelis bombed their home. Amidst the rubble, Musa, Widad, and their grandfather describe how the destruction has impacted their lives and dreams for the future.

Gaza Monologues Documentary (2010), 23 min

Filmmaker: Kahilil Almuzaian

In the aftermath of the assault on Gaza from December 2008 to January 2009, Ashtar Theater formed a troupe of young people who came together to write, rehearse and perform the Gaza Monologues. In this documentary, the actors and their directors reflect on how the experience of creating the Gaza Monologues allowed them to heal from traumatic events and bring light into their lives.

Horizon (2013), 18 min.

Director: Zain Duraie; a Philistine Films production; producer: Ossama Bawardi; creative producer: Annemarie Jacir

The uplifting story of Faten, who is determined to go beyond the traditionally confining roles of wife, mother and homemaker. With the support of women in her community, she finds purpose and meaning.