Science Fiction, Futurism, and Ecology by Larissa Sansour and Søren Lind

Free to the public. Bring a Drake ID for a free snack package.

This is a one-day event that includes the screening of four films by Palestinian contemporary artist Larissa Sansour and her partner Soren Lind, followed by a panel discussion. The first three films consist of what Sansour refers to as her “sci-fi trilogy”: A Space Exodus (a 5-minute film wherein the first Palestinian astronaut travels to the moon); Nation Estate (a 9-minute film that imagines a solution to the question of how to create a Palestinian state in which a futuristic high rise allows Palestinians to visit simulacra of all the cities and sites of historic Palestine); and In the Future They Ate From the Finest Porcelain (a 29-minute dystopian future in which “narrative terrorists” aim to disrupt the historical records of the land by manipulating the carbon dating of artifacts to assert Palestinian presence in the past when they are dug up in the future). Additionally, In Vitro (28 minutes) is a film that originally premiered at the Venice Biennale in 2019, and imagines a future Bethlehem ravaged by an ecological disaster that has driven its inhabitants underground.

This event is supported by the Center for the Humanities at Drake University.

Info: 10 – 10:15 am: Welcome + registration
10:15-11:45 am: Film screening (72 minutes + seating)
11:50 – 12:50 pm: Panel discussion + Q&A
12:50 - Closing remarks

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Varsity Cinema, 1207 25th Street, Des Moines, United States