Last fall, the Film and Media Department organized a screening of the film “Israelism.” The screening was canceled and ignited protests on campus, along with many news articles regarding censorship and academic freedom. This semester, Professor Tami Gold from Film and Media, along with faculty in other departments, have come together to organize a semester-long Palestinian Film Series.
“What we want the outcome to be is opening up discussion,” said Gold. “Trusting our students that we could have healthy discussions.”
The Film and Media Studies Department, along with the Africana, Puerto Rican, and Latino Studies Department; the Applied Digital Sociology Program; the Arabic Studies Department; the Sociology Department; and CUNY-Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine all came together to produce the series, which kicked off in early February with “1948: Creation and Catastrophe.”
Gold explained that time constraints kept them from contacting other departments. However, this inter-departmental partnership holds great significance after last semester’s events.
“By having all those co-sponsors, that’s kind of an indication that there is a demand for a ceasefire among CUNY departments and programs,” said Gold. Faculty and staff from across campus selected the films, which screen through May 2024.
On February 26, the second film in the series, Arna’s Children, was screened in the Lang Recital Hall at 6:00 p.m. The film follows the story of a children’s theater group in the West Bank at the Jenin Freedom Theater.
Gold said Arna’s Children is not only one of her favorite films, but also a reflection of the current situation in the West Bank and Gaza.
“The Freedom Theater has been attacked by the Israeli military, the IDF,” said Gold. “And two people who were co-directors have been arrested.”
The series will continue until the end of the Spring semester, and each month two films will be screened.
“It’s important to give voice to Palestinians,” said Gold. “For decades there has not been sufficient articulation about Palestine, by Palestinians, and about what the consequences are about having one country occupy another country.”
