“Falasteen on Screen” is a film series currently showing at The Michigan Theater, highlighting cinema made by Palestinian filmmakers. From the initial screening of “Laila’s Birthday” to the most recent screening “The Stones Cry Out,” the series shines an important light on often overlooked films by Palestinian filmmakers.
Released in 2008, “Laila’s Birthday” follows Abu Laila (Mohammad Bakri, “Wajib”), as he attempts to buy a suitable birthday present for his daughter (Nour Zoubi, debut). However, Abu Laila faces several obstacles along the way, including losing track of his car and wedding attendees accidentally thinking his vehicle is part of a procession.
Umayyah Cable, assistant professor of American Culture and Film, Television, and Media, who teaches AMAS 405 (Palestinian Cinema), gave a speech prior to the screening of “Laila’s Birthday” about the history of Palestinian cinema. They discussed how Palestinian cinema originated in the 1930s but became more common in the 1960s, how the Palestinian Liberation Organization financially supported Palestinian cinema and the “radical shift” of Palestinian films from being primarily about liberation to more narrative fiction. Additionally, they contextualized the work of “Laila’s Birthday” director Rashid Masharawi as one of Palestine’s earliest producers of narrative cinema.
Rima Hassouneh, educator, coordinator of Global Visitors Programs at Michigan Medicine’s Global REACH and Marquee Arts board member, was one of the curators of the film series. She was also in attendance at the screening of “Laila’s Birthday.”
In two separate email interviews following the screening of “Laila’s Birthday,” The Michigan Daily talked to Cable and Hassouneh about the “Falasteen on Screen” film series.
Both of these conversations have been edited and condensed for clarity and brevity.
Umayyah Cable, assistant professor of American Culture and Film, Television, and Media
The Michigan Daily: In the course description of AMAS 405 (Palestinian Cinema), you ask students to “consider what various kinds of social, cultural, or political work is being accomplished through this national and diasporic cinematic movement.” What is the specific social, cultural or political work that is being accomplished by this collection of films for “Falasteen on Screen,” outside of being seen by Western audiences “in relation to ‘the conflict?’”
Umayyah Cable: The films for “Falasteen on Screen” were selected to give Ann Arbor audiences a sampling of both narrative and documentary Palestinian films. I thought it was important to start out with “Laila’s Birthday” primarily because it’s a comedy. The film’s premise is very simple and relatable: Abu Laila is just a man trying to get through his workday so he can celebrate his daughter’s birthday that evening. But what the audience learns through the film is that the conditions of Israeli apartheid make even the most mundane routines and social interactions stressful, chaotic and demoralizing for Palestinians. But the story has a heartwarming ending: Despite Abu Laila’s breakdown under the stress of his day, he ultimately succeeds in getting Laila her birthday cake and makes it home in time to celebrate her birthday. This happy ending ultimately conveys the meaning of sumud, which is the Arabic word for “steadfastness” and the ethos of Palestinian resistance. Palestinians are resolute in their commitment to their ancestral land, and no amount of occupation or apartheid will break the Palestinian spirit and will to live.
TMD: Additionally, during your introduction before the “Laila’s Birthday” screening, I remember you described “Laila’s Birthday” as a “comedy of errors under occupation,” and how the history of Palestinian cinema saw a shift from films about liberation movements to narrative fiction. What is the importance of narrative films specifically, such as “Laila’s Birthday,” in representing Palestinian cinema outside of being seen by Western audiences “in relation to ‘the conflict?’”
UC: It is really important not to pigeonhole Palestinian cinema into certain genres or forms. The expectation that Palestinian cinema should always be documentary or always be about the so-called “conflict” is an unfair burden that robs Palestinians of creative agency. Indeed, the breadth of films within the Palestinian cinematic movement is quite diverse and that diversity has been growing exponentially over the last twenty years. There are so many different genres within Palestinian cinema: comedies, thrillers, science fiction, experimental video art, historical fiction and even some heartwarming films that are suitable for younger audiences.
TMD: Did you help with the curation of the series and, if so, is there perhaps a common theme with all of these films that you felt was essential to represent a piece of Palestinian cinema?
UC: I did help with curation. Less than focusing on a common theme, we wanted the series to have a certain rhythm to it. The series starts out with a comedy, then moves to a period drama, then to a beautiful experimental documentary, then to a more traditional documentary with ties to the Palestinian community in Southeast Michigan and then the series ends with a newly released documentary about one of Palestinian cinema’s most prolific actors.
TMD: In your article “‘Farha’ and the Claustrophobic State of Palestinian Cinema,” you mention Edward Said’s idea of giving Palestinians “permission to narrate.” What is the significance of the “Falasteen on Screen” series featuring exclusively Palestinian filmmakers and, in doing so, allowing Palestinians to self-represent outside of Western and Israeli perceptions/misrepresentations of Palestine?
UC: Self-representation has historically, and continues to be, been denied to Palestinians in the context of the United States. A film series of entirely Palestinian filmmakers is designed to overcome that denial and center the Palestinian perspective. If you want to understand the Palestinian condition, do not rely on Israeli or American narration of that condition. This film series brings audiences directly to the source and foregrounds Palestinian voices.
TMD: In the AMAS 405 (Palestinian Cinema) course description, you also talk about “institutions such as A-level film festivals” that make Palestinian cinema “more widely available,” and that it comes at a cost. I was wondering if you could elaborate on what the cost is, and whether the same cost exists or doesn’t exist with the “Falasteen on Screen” series.
UC: The problem with representation is that it is often presumed to be singular. People see one Palestinian film and it becomes easy to assume that it represents all Palestinian experience. Whether an American spectator sees one, two or ten Palestinian films, they will still not know the breadth and diversity of Palestinian cinema, let alone Palestinian society and politics. It would be like if a Palestinian spectator watched a handful of American films, like “Rocky,” “Forrest Gump,” “E.T.” and “Titanic” and then assumed they knew everything that could be known about American culture based on those films. That is all to say, US spectators should be aware that the Palestinian films presented to them in the US are just a snapshot of the larger body of Palestinian cinema, and that the films that they have access to in the US are often filtered through numerous Western processes of curation, distribution, and even gatekeeping in order for them to make it to exhibition in the US.
Rima Hassouneh, educator, coordinator of Global Visitors Programs at Michigan Medicine’s Global REACH and board member of Marquee Arts
The Michigan Daily: I took a look at the other films selected for the “Falasteen on Screen” series. I noticed that they spanned various genres, from fiction to documentary, and featured films released at varying points in the last 15 years. As someone who helped lead the curation of the “Falasteen on Screen” series, was there a unifying theme in all of these films that you felt was essential to represent a piece of Palestinian cinema? What was the selection process like?
Rima Hassouneh: Our selection committee wanted diversity in representation and genre. We chose narrative films, documentaries, love stories and comedies. Our main goal was to make visible and known the complexity of Palestinian identity and experience. It was crucial to the committee that Palestinians, historically maligned and denied their full humanity and inherent rights to self-determination as a people, speak for themselves on the big screen.
TMD: I was watching the 2021 (Marquee Arts) Towsley Society testimonial you gave. I saw you talked a lot about the free virtual screenings in 2020 during the start of COVID-19, which was important for educational purposes, and the idea of bringing people together and cultivating empathy across different experiences. I also saw you mentioned films such as “Midnight Traveler,” about seeking asylum from the Taliban, and “A Thousand Cuts,” about press freedom in the Philippines. What does it mean to you … as a fierce advocate for education, that (Marquee Arts) is now doing the same with Palestinian stories in the “Falasteen on Screen” series?
RH: Organizing a local Palestinian film festival has been a dream of mine for at least a year, even before Israel’s genocidal annihilation of Gaza since October 7th, 2023. In the Michigan Theater Foundation, on whose board I serve, I found a ready and eager partner, and I am so gratified and proud that we are united in purpose: o educate about and amplify stories of Palestinians and Palestine, past and present.
TMD: Additionally, what do you hope that viewers of “Laila’s Birthday” and the “Falasteen on Screen” series will take away from the film and film series?
RH: I want viewers to identify with Palestinians, to see us as equally human, intelligible. I want audiences to walk away with a deeper, nuanced, empathetic understanding of Palestinian lives and to begin pursuing answers to questions raised in the films of “Falasteen on Screen.”
The next screening in the “Falasteen on Screen” series will be for the film “Bye Bye Tiberias” on May 19.
Daily Arts Writer Kristen Su can be reached at krsu@umich.edu.