Art, Music & Culture
The Arts, Music & Culture section of EI reports on Palestinian and Palestine-related film, books & literature, music, theatre, photography, comedy, and performing arts -- offering reviews, news, and notice of key upcoming events. Quality submissions are welcomed.
Soundtrack to the struggle: Rafeef Ziadah's "Hadeel" reviewed
Ahmed Habib, The Electronic Intifada, 23 March 2010
Like stones thrown from the palms of Palestinian youth, Rafeef Ziadah's lyrics are relentless in the way they shower audiences with the multiple layers of resistance and diaspora. Ziadah's debut album, Hadeel, unleashes a tapestry of fierce poetry infused with an eclectic selection of beautiful sounds. Ahmed Habib reviews for The Electronic Intifada. [MORE]
Book review: Higher education under occupation
Marcy Newman, The Electronic Intifada, 19 March 2010
Gabi Baramki's Peaceful Resistance: Building a Palestinian University under Occupation (Pluto Press, 2009) is a memoir of Palestine's flagship university, Birzeit, by its former acting president. The memoir is an indispensable tool for teaching Westerners about the ways in which Palestinian education exists and flourishes under a constant state of siege and the barriers to academic freedom that Palestinians experience on a daily basis. Marcy Newman reviews for The Electronic Intifada. [MORE]
Film review: Choreographed struggle in "Pomegranates and Myrrh"
Jimmy Johnson, The Electronic Intifada, 17 March 2010
Pomegranates and Myrrh is a solid exploration of the walls -- internal and external -- built up under conditions of extraordinary stress. It's also about struggle and liberation, both on the personal and political levels. Director Najwa Najjar is a growing talent with her third feature being her strongest to date. Jimmy Johnson reviews for The Electronic Intifada. [MORE]
Review: Finkelstein's transformation to victim hero in "American Radical"
Max Blumenthal, The Electronic Intifada, 15 March 2010
With unfettered access to Norman Finkelstein during the most dramatic stage of his career, American Radical: the trials of Norman Finkelstein directors David Ridgen and Nicolas Rossier provide a compelling look at one of the most roundly vilified academics in recent American history. Max Blumenthal reviews the new documentary for The Electronic Intifada. [MORE]
Interview: Education and resistance at the Ann Arbor Palestine film fest
Jimmy Johnson, The Electronic Intifada, 12 March 2010
The second annual Ann Arbor Palestine Film Festival opened on Wednesday, 10 March with the feature film Pomegranates and Myrrh. Such festivals are a growing phenomenon with new ones popping up throughout the United States. The Electronic Intifada contributor Jimmy Johnson spoke with festival organizers Hena Ashraf, Ryah Aqel, Lauren Thams and Pomegranates and Myrhh director Najwa Najjar. [MORE]
Second annual Ann Arbor Palestine film fest opens with "Pomegranates and Myrrh"
Announcement, Ann Arbor Palestine Film Festival, 11 March 2010
The second annual Ann Arbor Palestine Film Festival opened on 10 March 2010 at the Michigan Theater with hundreds of attendees for Najwa Najjar's Pomegranates and Myrrh. The film festival showcases films about Palestine and by Palestinian directors. Educating through the screen arts, the film festival amplifies the voice of the Palestinian people as a nation and diaspora by bringing films to the fore that would not otherwise be seen. [MORE]
"Palestinian cinema is a cause": an interview with Hany Abu-Assad
Sabah Haider, The Electronic Intifada, 8 March 2010
Nazareth-born filmmaker Hany Abu-Assad is best known internationally for his 2005 film Paradise Now about two young, attractive Palestinian men from Nablus in the occupied West Bank who are drawn into a suicide bombing mission in Tel Aviv. It was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Foreign Language Film category. The Electronic Intifada contributor Sabah Haider spoke with Hany Abu Assad about how his films are received, Palestinian cinema and the challenges of filmmaking. [MORE]
Pushing the boundaries of identity: an interview with Jennifer Jajeh
Uda Olabarria Walker, The Electronic Intifada, 5 March 2010
Jennifer Jajeh's critically acclaimed one-woman show, I Heart Hamas and Other Things I am Afraid to Tell You, pulls no punches. From a Ramallah Convention in San Francisco in the 1980s, to casting lines in contemporary Los Angeles, to the front lines of the Israeli occupation and back, Jajeh navigates the complicated and often conflicted terrain of Palestinian identity. The Electronic Intifada contributor Uda Olabarria Walker interviews Jajeh about her work. [MORE]
Refusal to surrender: "My Father was a Freedom Fighter" reviewed
Robin Yassin-Kassab, The Electronic Intifada, 3 March 2010
Palestinian-American author, journalist and editor of the Palestine Chronicle, Ramzy Baroud's latest book My Father was a Freedom Fighter is an antidote to the US, European and Israeli media's decontextualization and dehumanization of Palestinians. It's also an instant classic, one of the very best books to have examined the Palestinian tragedy. Robin Yassin-Kassab reviews for The Electronic Intifada. [MORE]
"The ground is shifting": An interview with comedian Ivor Dembina
Sarah Irving, The Electronic Intifada, 26 February 2010
Ivor Dembina's one-man show This is Not a Subject for Comedy has been running, growing and developing for more than five year, dealing with Dembina's upbringing in a 1960s "mainstream Jewish household" broadly supporting the Zionist cause. Set to perform before the British House of Commons, Dembina was recently interviewed by The Electronic Intifada contributor Sarah Irving. [MORE]
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