Where Should the Birds Fly? - Centering Palestine on Screen series

Where Should the Birds Fly? (2013) is a film about the 2008 Israeli attack on Gaza--where a month of bullets, bombs, rockets, white phosphorus, tanks and bulldozers left 1,400 mostly civilians dead, and destroyed large swaths of Gaza--and reminds us that those attacks were not new then, and tragically, have become even more devastating today. Since October 2023, over 33,000 in Gaza have died, people are on the verge of starvation, and thousands of buildings have been destroyed.

This film by director Fida Qishta and edited by Gladys Joujou is a compelling and moving Palestinian film based on the story of two remarkable young women, the future of Palestine, who personify the struggle to maintain humanity, humor and hope, and to find some degree of normality in the brutal abnormality that has been imposed on them and the Palestinian people by Israel with United States support.

Join us for this free film screening, presented by the Diverse Filmmakers Alliance (DFA) with Third World Newsreel and co-sponsored by The People's Forum. The screening will be followed by a brief discussion and is the second in the Centering Palestine on Screen series.

This event is free though attendees are encouraged to donate, which will go to Gazan journalists and Palestinian filmmakers. There is a go-fund-me campaign by filmmaker Fida Qishta to bring her family out of Gaza right now: https://www.gofundme.com/f/gaza-crisis-rescue-my-parents-act-now.

Questions to [email protected]

The screening series Centering Palestine on Screen aims to uplifts the voices of Palestinians in order to make connections around decolonial struggles experienced by the diverse communities of New York City. Following the screening of portions of the evening’s films, we will thread through a chorus of perspectives that have been affected and are continuing the struggle against colonization and erasure, creating a space for the audience to contextualize the ongoing conflicts happening abroad and at home.

DFA is a group of documentary, narrative, experimental, and transmedia filmmakers from diverse backgrounds. We provide and receive feedback designed to make our media projects more fundable, more watchable, more entertaining, more educational, and ready to meet their audienceDFA is a space where filmmakers are encouraged to share resources and discuss issues around socially-responsible filmmaking. We want to create and sustain a viable community of filmmakers of different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives who are interested in producing work that makes meaningful connections across class, race, age, gender, and sexual orientation.

Third World Newsreel (TWN) is an alternative media arts organization that fosters the creation, appreciation, preservation and dissemination of independent film and video by and about people of color and social justice issues.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

People's Forum, 320 West 37 Street, New York, United States