Five days of premier Palestinian cinema come to Columbia as the University plays host to Dreams of a Nation, a film festival intended to celebrate the collective identity of Palestinians throughout the diaspora from Feb. 2 to 6. Columbia’s Center for Palestine Studies was the first such center at any American academic institution. Columbia thus seems to be a natural venue for a festival like Dreams of a Nation, which was inaugurated here in 2003.
The festival is part of a growing field of Palestinian cinema that allows people to present their stories both as statements of self and as responses to the frequently misconstrued Western media portrayals of Middle Eastern culture. The Dreams of a Nation Palestinian film archive launched in 2003 with the hopes of carrying Palestinian culture throughout the world via film screenings and dialogues around Palestinian cinema. In addition to the featured films, the Dreams of a Nation film archive offers further materials online to anyone interested in Palestinian efforts toward cultural preservation and international understanding, including movie synopses, critiques, and biographical information on filmmakers.
Wednesday, Feb. 5 marked both the official start of the Dreams of a Nation film festival and the New York premiere of “Pomegranates and Myrrh,” followed by a question-and-answer session with director Najwa Najjar, actress Hiam Abbass, and Professor Habashi. The film portrayed the frustrating injustices of life under occupation as a newlywed couple is forcibly torn apart when Israeli soldiers arrest the young husband in an attempt to confiscate his land. Najjar said afterwards that the idea for the film came to her during her own experiences in Palestine under occupation and the sensation at the time of having all freedoms completely taken away.
“Feeling so completely controlled, yet seeing that people still live normal lives under extraordinary circumstances, that was what I wanted to capture,” said Najjar. “We’re not fighting just to fight. There’s land—it’s beautiful, and to have that taken away.…”
Throughout the week, the festival will continue on with films including the 2008 winner of Best Film from the Arab States Broadcasting Union and of the prestigious Memories of the Mediterranean prize, “The Land Speaks Arabic” (Maryse Gargour). The documentary captures the 1948 Zionist invasion into Palestine and the attempted ethnic cleansing of native Arabs. The upheaval of daily life for many Palestinians under Israeli occupation and their struggle to maintain a semblance of what once was are salient themes throughout many of the festival’s films, including “Wedding in Galilee” (Michel Khleifi), “Salt of this Sea” (Annemarie Jacir), and “The Time that Remains” (Elia Suleiman), as well as the more humorous literary memoir of sorts, “Since You Left” (Mohammad Bakri).
Drawing aspects of Palestinian culture other than cinema, the festival will also highlight poetry, food, and dance at its traditional culture night. An academic panel on “Exploring Identity and Social History Through a Palestinian Lens” will also take place to foster discussion and share perspectives. The festival’s multiple sponsors include Columbia’s Center for Palestine Studies, School of the Arts, Middle East Institute, Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies, and Center for the Critical Analysis of Social Difference.
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