Over the last twenty years, Palestinian cinema has garnered much critical acclaim and international fanfare. As a body of cinema produced under ongoing conditions of colonialism and exile, Palestinian cinema is not your average “national” cinema. Palestinian films are often discussed as an allegory for national struggle or as a corrective or counternarrative to Hollywood and Israeli misrepresentations of Palestine and Palestinians. As such, the category of “Palestinian cinema” is often forced to carry a cumbersome burden of representation. What happens when we examine Palestinian cinema on its own terms: less in relation to “the conflict,” not solely as an allegory, and not always as a corrective or counternarrative? While these topics will certainly be discussed in this class, this course asks you, the student-spectator, to take several steps back from what you think you may know about Palestine or Palestinians and consider what various kinds of social, cultural, or political work is being accomplished through this national and diasporic cinematic movement? This course takes a chronological approach to the study of Palestinian cinema in order to chart multiple aesthetic, political, and cultural shifts which demonstrate the depth and complexity of Palestinian cinema beyond stereotypes and cliches. Lastly, this course will also examine the political economy of Palestinian cinema by looking at the role of organizations and institutions such as A-level film festivals (Cannes, Toronto, Sundance, etc.), grassroots film festivals (in Boston, Chicago, Houston, London, Australia, etc.), the Academy Awards and Golden Globe Awards, as well as streaming services such as Netflix, in making Palestinian cinema more widely available and more popular, and at what cost.

Note: this course has a required film screening lab attached to it. Students must enroll in both AMCULT 301-005 (33487) and AMCULT 301-006 (35120).