Bringing Palestine out of the shadows! Help us reach beyond “the choir” to bring a new awareness to folks who might never attend an educational event about Palestine. We need to raise $1200 to do this in April.
Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane is partnering with the Arab Culture Club of Spokane Community College to present our Palestine Film Festival, and we’re asking for your help. We’ve chosen films with broad appeal: hip-hop for young folks and music lovers, a beautiful film about an African-American gospel in a Palestinian play about Martin Luther King Jr., and more.
Can you help? Every dollar you contribute will help us get this issue before a broader public, and that, as we all know, is critical to finding a just resolution to the struggle and to ending the suffering there.
You can donate with credit card or Pay Pal by clicking the button on this page, or you can send a check to:
Film Festival – Peace and Justice Action League at 35 W. Main Spokane, WA 99201.
The film festival will be held at Spokane Community College at Mission and Greene. See film descriptions for specific location. Suggested donation of $10 and students are free. All films show at 7pm.
The festival will debut with Slingshot Hip-Hop on Wednesday, April 9th in the Hagan building at Spokane Community College, building number 16. This film braids together the stories of young Palestinians living in Gaza, the West Bank and inside Israel as they discover Hip Hop and employ it as a tool to surmount divisions imposed by occupation and poverty. From internal checkpoints and Separation Walls to gender norms and generational differences, this is the story of young people crossing the borders that separate them.
For more information on Slingshot Hip-Hop click here.
In Al Helm: Martin Luther King in Palestine, an African-American gospel choir goes to Palestine to sing in a Palestinian play about Martin Luther King Jr. They become witnesses to life under occupation and a non-violent movement for social justice. Don’t miss this second showing of the “Out of the Shadows” series, showing on Wednesday, April 16th in the Lair building at Spokane Community College, building number 6.
“We also captured the growing non-violent movement of young people in Palestine, who are much like their peers in Egypt and Tunisia — bright, well-educated, social media savvy and deeply committed. They are on the move, changing hearts and minds. Our film brings a fresh perspective in understanding the realities of Palestinian life under occupation and introduces people to the realities of Palestinian life under occupation and introduced people to the young Palestinians who are changing the landscape non-violently.”
For more information on Al Helm click here.
Miral will show on Wednesday, April 23rd in the Lair building at Spokane Community College, building number 6. This is a drama centered on an orphaned Palestinian girl growing up in the wake of the Arab-Israeli war who finds herself drawn into the conflict.At the age of 7, Miral is sent to the Dar al-Tifel Institute for Palestinian orphans by her father following her mother’s death. Brought up safely in side the Institute’s walls, she is naive to the troubles that surround her. Then at the age of 17, she is assigned to teach at a refugee camp where she is awakened to the reality of her people’s struggle. When she falls for political activist, Hani, she finds herself torn between the fight for the future of her people and Mama Hind’s belief that education is the road to peace.
For more information on Miral click here.
Don’t miss the final night of “Out of the Shadows” where we will showcase the two short films, One Family in Gaza and Children of Ibdaa as our final films of the series on Wednesday, April 30th! These films will show back-to-back in the Lair building at Spokane Community College, building number 6. “Just months after the Israeli assault that killed 1,390 Palestinians, I visited Gaza. Among dozens of painful stories I heard, one family stood out. I spent several days with Kamal and Wafaa Awajah, playing with their children, sleeping in the tent they were living in, and filming their story…Palestinians in Gaza are depicted either as violent terrorists or as helpless victims. The Awajah family challenges both portrayals. Through one family’s story, the larger tragedy of Gaza is exposed, and the courage and resilience of it’s people shines through.” Jen Marlowe, Filmmaker.
The Children of Ibdaa: To Create Something Out of Nothing is a 30-minute documentary about a Palestinian children’s dance troupe from Dheisheh refugee camp in the West Bank. The children use their performance to express the history, struggle, and aspirations of the Palestinian people, specifically the right to return to their homeland.
For more information on The Children of Ibdaa click here.
Can you help? Every dollar you contribute will help us get this issue before a broader public, and that, as we all know, is critical to finding a just resolution to the struggle and to ending the suffering there.
You can donate with credit card or Pay Pal by clicking the button on this page, or you can send a check to:
Film Festival – Peace and Justice Action League at 35 W. Main Spokane, WA 99201.
Thank you! With your help, we can expect a rousing turnout for this first festival!
PJALS/Palestine-Israel Human Rights Committee
509-838-7870