About this Event
ELIA SULEIMAN'S PALESTINE TRILOGY — co-presented by Mizna
Across three evenings over three months, The Philosophical Research Society's 7th House, in collaboration with Mizna, a leading platform for contemporary Arab and SWANA arts and culture, proudly presents Palestinian filmmaker Elia Suleiman's celebrated PALESTINE TRILOGY: CHRONICLE OF A DISAPPEARANCE (1996), DIVINE INTERVENTION (2002), and THE TIME THAT REMAINS (2009). Rarely screened in Los Angeles, and even more rarely presented together, these three singular works offer a profoundly moving, darkly humorous, and deeply human portrait of Palestinian life under Israel’s occupation.
One of the most distinctive voices in contemporary world cinema, Suleiman has developed a singular visual language recalling the deadpan physical comedy of Buster Keaton and the meticulous choreography of Jacques Tati. Fans of Roy Anderson and Aki Kaurismäki will find a kindred spirit in Suleiman, whose precisely composed images and exquisitely timed visual comedy transform everyday life into something both wonderfully strange and disarmingly profound. Frequently appearing as a nearly silent observer in his own films, he turns moments of daily occupied life into occasions of surreally absurd comedy, wry resistance, and deeply felt tenderness. But the humor never obscures the grim realities beneath it: the violence of occupation, the indignities of displacement, and the profound sorrow of a people denied their freedom. Instead, it becomes a means of expressing resistance and insisting upon humanity in the face of dehumanization.
Revisiting these films today carries a significance that could scarcely have been anticipated when the trilogy concluded in 2009. Against the backdrop of the ongoing tragedy in Palestine, Suleiman's work takes on a new and often heartbreaking poignancy. Seen together on the big screen, these films offer a deeply human testament to the spirit, memory, and enduring resilience of the Palestinian people.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19 — CHRONICLE OF A DISAPPEARANCE (1996)
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17 — DIVINE INTERVENTION (2002)
TUESDAY, JANUARY 21 — THE TIME THAT REMAINS (2009)
CHRONICLE OF A DISAPPEARANCE (1996)
As part of their three month series ELIA SULEIMAN'S PALESTINE TRILOGY, The Philosophical Research Society's 7th House, in collaboration with Mizna, proudly presents CHRONICLE OF A DISAPPEARANCE (1996), the remarkable debut feature from Palestinian filmmaker Elia Suleiman, and the first installment in his celebrated trilogy. Winner of the Best First Feature prize at the 1996 Venice Film Festival, this quietly radical, darkly comic meditation on identity, displacement, and belonging announced the arrival of one of world cinema's most singular voices.
Returning to his native Palestine after more than a decade in New York, Suleiman transforms his homecoming into a wonderfully unpredictable cinematic diary, playing a Tati-esque version of himself known simply as E.S. Divided into two sections, “Nazareth: Personal Diary” and “Jerusalem: Political Diary,” the film unfolds as a mosaic of seemingly disconnected episodes, blending autobiography, documentary observation, and fiction. Moving between the intimate eccentricities of family life and the surreal absurdities of Israeli surveillance and control, Suleiman observes a homeland that has become simultaneously familiar and strange, finding moments of unexpected humor amid the indignities of occupation.
Through precisely composed tableaux, visual gags, and long stretches of observational stillness, Chronicle of a Disappearance reveals how the realities of occupation permeate even the most mundane aspects of daily existence. The disappearance of the title is not a single event, but a creeping condition: the gradual erosion of place, certainty, and belonging. Yet amid this uncertainty, Suleiman finds an extraordinary richness of human character and quiet resistance. Nearly thirty years after its premiere, its questions of identity, memory, and the meaning of home remain as resonant as ever, and perhaps all the more affecting today.
Dir. Elia Suleiman, 1996, 88 mins, Palestine/Israel, Arabic/Hebrew/French/English/Russian w/ English Subtitles, Unrated, Digital
Tickets: $12 (All Screenings Are In Person Only)
Please email [email protected] or phone 323-663-2167 with any questions.
ABOUT MIZNA
Since 1999, Mizna has promoted experimental approaches to art, literature, and film; work that questions and expands the forms and conceptual frameworks of Arab and SWANA culture. We publish a biannual print literary and art journal, Mizna, and Mizna Online, a digital platform for literary and multidisciplinary work reflecting critically on the current realities of the SWANA region and beyond. We produce the Twin Cities Arab Film Festival, the largest and longest-running SWANA-centered film festival in the Midwest. Mizna also offers readings, film series, performances, public art commissions, and community events that have featured 1000+ local and transnational writers, filmmakers, and artists.
Learn more at mizna.org and follow on IG at @mizna_arabart
ADVISORY DISCLAIMER
With some exception, The Philosophical Research Society’s 7th House Screenings does not typically provide advisory warnings about potentially upsetting content or subject matter, as sensitivities are particular to each viewer. Please be sure to read event listings, research on the web, or visit Common Sense Media, IMDb, and DoesTheDogDie.com for thorough info on content and age-appropriateness. If you have any specific content advisory questions, please email [email protected].
CONTENT DISCLAIMER
The views, opinions, and thoughts expressed within exhibited works are solely those of their creators and may not represent those of the Philosophical Research Society (PRS), its affiliates, or any individuals associated with PRS. Screenings are intended for educational and entertainment purposes.
ACCESSIBILITY
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PARKING
Limited parking is available onsite at PRS in both the front lot (entry from Los Feliz Blvd. when heading east), as well as street parking on Griffith Park Blvd. and (after 7 PM) on Los Feliz Blvd. We encourage attendees to consider carpooling, walking or biking to events if possible, and please be considerate of our Los Feliz neighbors when parking.
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