Atrocity Through the Lens

The upcoming program 'Atrocity through The Lens' brings two films that explore the Palestinian experience through unconventional narratives.

As suffering and the genocide in Gaza unfold during the age of digitized and portable media, we revisit two films that explore human suffering throughout decades of injust war.This program, guest-curated by Zeina, includes Abdallah Al-Khatib’s remarkable diary feature 'Little Palestine: Diary of a Siege’ (2021), set in Syria's largest Palestinian refugee camp during the civil war. And the short witty film ‘Trouble in Paradise’ (2018) by Mona Benyamin.

‘Little Palestine: Diary of a Siege’: As the Syrian revolution breaks out and the camp is cut off from the rest of the world, Al-Khatib and his friends begin documenting the daily life of the besieged, who face bombing, displacement and hunger with rallying, music, study, love, and joy. Hundreds of lives are irredeemably transformed – from Abdallah’s mother, who becomes a nurse, taking care of the elderly at the camp, to the fiercest activists, whose passion for Palestine is tested by hunger. Al-Khatib offers a vital and humane perspective, forming an ever-evolving love letter to the Yarmouk camp and its Palestinian people. It is painfully poetic and relevant even more so than ever as the Israeli military army continues to contain the siege of Gaza to this day.

‘Trouble in Paradise’: A dysfunctional sitcom starring the artist's parents, the film explores humor as a mechanism for coping with trauma, pain, and taboos surrounding the Nakba and the Israeli. This satirical short, juxtaposing two liners and ridiculous statements of truth, enables viewers to gradually comprehend the brutality of man-made atrocity in a strange harmony with dark humor.

One Night Only. This is a benefit screening for the people of Gaza- All proceeds collected will go to the PCRP, Palestinian Children Relief Fund.

Trigger warning: We caution our community for audiences sensitive to the topic and impacted by current events. This program curated by Zeina for Millennium Film Workshop and Film Diary NYC