#women-in-film — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #women-in-film, aggregated by home.social.
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Tessa Thompson, Katie Aselton, Amy Baer and Raamla Mohamed Hunter Elected to WIF Board of Directors (EXCLUSIVE)
#Variety #News #TessaThompson #WomeninFilm -
Tessa Thompson, Katie Aselton, Amy Baer and Raamla Mohamed Hunter Elected to WIF Board of Directors (EXCLUSIVE)
#Variety #News #TessaThompson #WomeninFilm -
Tessa Thompson, Katie Aselton, Amy Baer and Raamla Mohamed Hunter Elected to WIF Board of Directors (EXCLUSIVE)
#Variety #News #TessaThompson #WomeninFilm -
Tessa Thompson, Katie Aselton, Amy Baer and Raamla Mohamed Hunter Elected to WIF Board of Directors (EXCLUSIVE)
#Variety #News #TessaThompson #WomeninFilm -
Tessa Thompson, Katie Aselton, Amy Baer and Raamla Mohamed Hunter Elected to WIF Board of Directors (EXCLUSIVE)
#Variety #News #TessaThompson #WomeninFilm -
Tessa Thompson, Katie Aselton, Amy Baer and Raamla Mohamed Hunter Elected to WIF Board of Directors (EXCLUSIVE)
#Variety #News #TessaThompson #WomeninFilm -
Tessa Thompson, Katie Aselton, Amy Baer and Raamla Mohamed Hunter Elected to WIF Board of Directors (EXCLUSIVE)
#Variety #News #TessaThompson #WomeninFilm -
Tessa Thompson, Katie Aselton, Amy Baer and Raamla Mohamed Hunter Elected to WIF Board of Directors (EXCLUSIVE)
#Variety #News #TessaThompson #WomeninFilm -
Tessa Thompson, Katie Aselton, Amy Baer and Raamla Mohamed Hunter Elected to WIF Board of Directors (EXCLUSIVE)
#Variety #News #TessaThompson #WomeninFilm -
Tessa Thompson, Katie Aselton, Amy Baer and Raamla Mohamed Hunter Elected to WIF Board of Directors (EXCLUSIVE)
#Variety #News #TessaThompson #WomeninFilm -
Tessa Thompson, Katie Aselton, Amy Baer and Raamla Mohamed Hunter Elected to WIF Board of Directors (EXCLUSIVE)
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Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2P98ad6stBsFull movie:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0GPLN1P7Z/Follow here:
@whereinthehell🔖 #IndieCinema 📽️ #WomenInFilm 🍿 #QueerFilm 🏳️🌈 #WhereInTheHell 🍌 #LaramieDennis 🎬
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Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2P98ad6stBsFull movie:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0GPLN1P7Z/Follow here:
@whereinthehell🔖 #IndieCinema 📽️ #WomenInFilm 🍿 #QueerFilm 🏳️🌈 #WhereInTheHell 🍌 #LaramieDennis 🎬
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Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2P98ad6stBsFull movie:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0GPLN1P7Z/Follow here:
@whereinthehell🔖 #IndieCinema 📽️ #WomenInFilm 🍿 #QueerFilm 🏳️🌈 #WhereInTheHell 🍌 #LaramieDennis 🎬
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Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2P98ad6stBsFull movie:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0GPLN1P7Z/Follow here:
@whereinthehell🔖 #IndieCinema 📽️ #WomenInFilm 🍿 #QueerFilm 🏳️🌈 #WhereInTheHell 🍌 #LaramieDennis 🎬
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Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2P98ad6stBsFull movie:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0GPLN1P7Z/Follow here:
@whereinthehell🔖 #IndieCinema 📽️ #WomenInFilm 🍿 #QueerFilm 🏳️🌈 #WhereInTheHell 🍌 #LaramieDennis 🎬
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Another star of our Saturday evening (7pm) Women in Silent Comedy Show is Martha Sleeper. She has an impressive filmography. She started in movies at the age of 12 (she's in a few Our Gangs) and kept on working well into the sound era.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_Sleeper
And she developed a line of "Gadget Jewelry". Plenty of pieces are still out there.
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&hs=nlGV&channel=entpr&udm=28&q=martha%20sleeper%20gadget%20jewelry
#SilentFilm #WomenInFilm -
Another star of our Saturday evening (7pm) Women in Silent Comedy Show is Martha Sleeper. She has an impressive filmography. She started in movies at the age of 12 (she's in a few Our Gangs) and kept on working well into the sound era.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_Sleeper
And she developed a line of "Gadget Jewelry". Plenty of pieces are still out there.
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&hs=nlGV&channel=entpr&udm=28&q=martha%20sleeper%20gadget%20jewelry
#SilentFilm #WomenInFilm -
Another star of our Saturday evening (7pm) Women in Silent Comedy Show is Martha Sleeper. She has an impressive filmography. She started in movies at the age of 12 (she's in a few Our Gangs) and kept on working well into the sound era.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_Sleeper
And she developed a line of "Gadget Jewelry". Plenty of pieces are still out there.
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&hs=nlGV&channel=entpr&udm=28&q=martha%20sleeper%20gadget%20jewelry
#SilentFilm #WomenInFilm -
Another star of our Saturday evening (7pm) Women in Silent Comedy Show is Martha Sleeper. She has an impressive filmography. She started in movies at the age of 12 (she's in a few Our Gangs) and kept on working well into the sound era.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_Sleeper
And she developed a line of "Gadget Jewelry". Plenty of pieces are still out there.
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&hs=nlGV&channel=entpr&udm=28&q=martha%20sleeper%20gadget%20jewelry
#SilentFilm #WomenInFilm -
Another star of our Saturday evening (7pm) Women in Silent Comedy Show is Martha Sleeper. She has an impressive filmography. She started in movies at the age of 12 (she's in a few Our Gangs) and kept on working well into the sound era.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_Sleeper
And she developed a line of "Gadget Jewelry". Plenty of pieces are still out there.
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&hs=nlGV&channel=entpr&udm=28&q=martha%20sleeper%20gadget%20jewelry
#SilentFilm #WomenInFilm -
As a Finalist in the 2026 @SeedandSpark x @GoldHouseCo AAPI Renaissance Rally, we have to submit a 30s pitch video. Check out this video and let us know your thoughts! We’re so excited to be a part of the Rally!
#homesoundsfilm #aapirenaissancerally #aapi #womeninfilm #asiansinfilm #turkishfilm #indiefilm #supportindiefilm #crowdfunding
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RE: https://mastodon.social/@whereinthehell/116535476942201282
Do me a huge favor, please, and watch, rate with ⭐️, and leave a short, honest review for the first movie from our tiny movie studio @famebot ❣️
Prove to the world I'm not crazy for spending so much time posting here on #Mastodon and celebrating the #Fediverse and #ActivityPub
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RE: https://mastodon.social/@whereinthehell/116535476942201282
Do me a huge favor, please, and watch, rate with ⭐️, and leave a short, honest review for the first movie from our tiny movie studio @famebot ❣️
Prove to the world I'm not crazy for spending so much time posting here on #Mastodon and celebrating the #Fediverse and #ActivityPub
-
RE: https://mastodon.social/@whereinthehell/116535476942201282
Do me a huge favor, please, and watch, rate with ⭐️, and leave a short, honest review for the first movie from our tiny movie studio @famebot ❣️
Prove to the world I'm not crazy for spending so much time posting here on #Mastodon and celebrating the #Fediverse and #ActivityPub
-
RE: https://mastodon.social/@whereinthehell/116535476942201282
Do me a huge favor, please, and watch, rate with ⭐️, and leave a short, honest review for the first movie from our tiny movie studio @famebot ❣️
Prove to the world I'm not crazy for spending so much time posting here on #Mastodon and celebrating the #Fediverse and #ActivityPub
-
RE: https://mastodon.social/@whereinthehell/116535476942201282
Do me a huge favor, please, and watch, rate with ⭐️, and leave a short, honest review for the first movie from our tiny movie studio @famebot ❣️
Prove to the world I'm not crazy for spending so much time posting here on #Mastodon and celebrating the #Fediverse and #ActivityPub
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Banks Confronts 'Can't Direct Men' Bias in Hollywood
Elizabeth Banks shared that she was told women can't direct men. Learn why this bias affects female directors in Hollywood.
#ElizabethBanks, #HollywoodBias, #WomenInFilm, #DirectorLife, #GenderEquality
https://newsletter.tf/elizabeth-banks-women-cant-direct-men-bias/
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Banks Confronts 'Can't Direct Men' Bias in Hollywood
Elizabeth Banks shared that she was told women can't direct men. Learn why this bias affects female directors in Hollywood.
#ElizabethBanks, #HollywoodBias, #WomenInFilm, #DirectorLife, #GenderEquality
https://newsletter.tf/elizabeth-banks-women-cant-direct-men-bias/
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Banks Confronts 'Can't Direct Men' Bias in Hollywood
Elizabeth Banks shared that she was told women can't direct men. Learn why this bias affects female directors in Hollywood.
#ElizabethBanks, #HollywoodBias, #WomenInFilm, #DirectorLife, #GenderEquality
https://newsletter.tf/elizabeth-banks-women-cant-direct-men-bias/
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Banks Confronts 'Can't Direct Men' Bias in Hollywood
Elizabeth Banks shared that she was told women can't direct men. Learn why this bias affects female directors in Hollywood.
#ElizabethBanks, #HollywoodBias, #WomenInFilm, #DirectorLife, #GenderEquality
https://newsletter.tf/elizabeth-banks-women-cant-direct-men-bias/
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Elizabeth Banks revealed she was told women can't direct male actors. This is a common bias faced by female directors in Hollywood.
#ElizabethBanks, #HollywoodBias, #WomenInFilm, #DirectorLife, #GenderEquality
https://newsletter.tf/elizabeth-banks-women-cant-direct-men-bias/ -
Elizabeth Banks revealed she was told women can't direct male actors. This is a common bias faced by female directors in Hollywood.
#ElizabethBanks, #HollywoodBias, #WomenInFilm, #DirectorLife, #GenderEquality
https://newsletter.tf/elizabeth-banks-women-cant-direct-men-bias/ -
Elizabeth Banks revealed she was told women can't direct male actors. This is a common bias faced by female directors in Hollywood.
#ElizabethBanks, #HollywoodBias, #WomenInFilm, #DirectorLife, #GenderEquality
https://newsletter.tf/elizabeth-banks-women-cant-direct-men-bias/ -
Elizabeth Banks revealed she was told women can't direct male actors. This is a common bias faced by female directors in Hollywood.
#ElizabethBanks, #HollywoodBias, #WomenInFilm, #DirectorLife, #GenderEquality
https://newsletter.tf/elizabeth-banks-women-cant-direct-men-bias/ -
🌍 Happy Arab American Heritage Month! As we honor the culture, heritage and history of the diverse peoples of the Arab world, we're highlighting Wadjda, the debut film from Saudi writer-director Haifaa al-Mansour!
This delightful narrative film about a young Saudi girl who desperately wants a bicycle was the first feature film shot entirely in Saudi Arabia and the first feature-length film made by a female Saudi director.
Our Wadjda Curriculum Guide for grades 6-12 features a lesson plan about director Haifaa al-Mansour and her pioneering film achievement! The curriculum guide also introduces students to Saudi Arabia and Islam, and provides a great starting point for discussing gender equality.
Learn where to watch this wonderful film and get free lesson plans! 👇
#Movies #Education #Homeschooling #Wadjda #HaifaaAlMansour #ArabAmericanHeritageMonth #AAHM #SaudiArabia #GenderEquity #Islam #WorldReligions #FilmStudies #FilmHistory #WomenInFilm #MENA
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🌍 Happy Arab American Heritage Month! As we honor the culture, heritage and history of the diverse peoples of the Arab world, we're highlighting Wadjda, the debut film from Saudi writer-director Haifaa al-Mansour!
This delightful narrative film about a young Saudi girl who desperately wants a bicycle was the first feature film shot entirely in Saudi Arabia and the first feature-length film made by a female Saudi director.
Our Wadjda Curriculum Guide for grades 6-12 features a lesson plan about director Haifaa al-Mansour and her pioneering film achievement! The curriculum guide also introduces students to Saudi Arabia and Islam, and provides a great starting point for discussing gender equality.
Learn where to watch this wonderful film and get free lesson plans! 👇
#Movies #Education #Homeschooling #Wadjda #HaifaaAlMansour #ArabAmericanHeritageMonth #AAHM #SaudiArabia #GenderEquity #Islam #WorldReligions #FilmStudies #FilmHistory #WomenInFilm #MENA
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🌍 Happy Arab American Heritage Month! As we honor the culture, heritage and history of the diverse peoples of the Arab world, we're highlighting Wadjda, the debut film from Saudi writer-director Haifaa al-Mansour!
This delightful narrative film about a young Saudi girl who desperately wants a bicycle was the first feature film shot entirely in Saudi Arabia and the first feature-length film made by a female Saudi director.
Our Wadjda Curriculum Guide for grades 6-12 features a lesson plan about director Haifaa al-Mansour and her pioneering film achievement! The curriculum guide also introduces students to Saudi Arabia and Islam, and provides a great starting point for discussing gender equality.
Learn where to watch this wonderful film and get free lesson plans! 👇
#Movies #Education #Homeschooling #Wadjda #HaifaaAlMansour #ArabAmericanHeritageMonth #AAHM #SaudiArabia #GenderEquity #Islam #WorldReligions #FilmStudies #FilmHistory #WomenInFilm #MENA
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🌍 Happy Arab American Heritage Month! As we honor the culture, heritage and history of the diverse peoples of the Arab world, we're highlighting Wadjda, the debut film from Saudi writer-director Haifaa al-Mansour!
This delightful narrative film about a young Saudi girl who desperately wants a bicycle was the first feature film shot entirely in Saudi Arabia and the first feature-length film made by a female Saudi director.
Our Wadjda Curriculum Guide for grades 6-12 features a lesson plan about director Haifaa al-Mansour and her pioneering film achievement! The curriculum guide also introduces students to Saudi Arabia and Islam, and provides a great starting point for discussing gender equality.
Learn where to watch this wonderful film and get free lesson plans! 👇
#Movies #Education #Homeschooling #Wadjda #HaifaaAlMansour #ArabAmericanHeritageMonth #AAHM #SaudiArabia #GenderEquity #Islam #WorldReligions #FilmStudies #FilmHistory #WomenInFilm #MENA
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🌍 Happy Arab American Heritage Month! As we honor the culture, heritage and history of the diverse peoples of the Arab world, we're highlighting Wadjda, the debut film from Saudi writer-director Haifaa al-Mansour!
This delightful narrative film about a young Saudi girl who desperately wants a bicycle was the first feature film shot entirely in Saudi Arabia and the first feature-length film made by a female Saudi director.
Our Wadjda Curriculum Guide for grades 6-12 features a lesson plan about director Haifaa al-Mansour and her pioneering film achievement! The curriculum guide also introduces students to Saudi Arabia and Islam, and provides a great starting point for discussing gender equality.
Learn where to watch this wonderful film and get free lesson plans! 👇
#Movies #Education #Homeschooling #Wadjda #HaifaaAlMansour #ArabAmericanHeritageMonth #AAHM #SaudiArabia #GenderEquity #Islam #WorldReligions #FilmStudies #FilmHistory #WomenInFilm #MENA
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Exclusive Interview with Carl Deal & Tia Lessin, Directors of “Steal This Story, Please!”
I was deeply honored to have the opportunity to sit down for a brief Q&A with directors Carl Deal and Tia Lessin as they promote their stunningly powerful new documentary, “Steal This Story, Please!” My review of the film can be found here. Many thanks to both Tia and Carl for a wonderful conversation.
The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.
ITOL: My first question to you both is that Amy Goodman represents a certain style of journalism; I would call it investigative journalism. Do you feel that investigative journalism has been replaced by the filmmaking you do, documentary filmmaking?
Tia Lessin: “Well, we have the ability to do things over years, over time and a lot of news organizations don’t have the budget or bandwidth for that. And so many news organizations have been downsized to the point of being able to run like capsules of news and they take a lot of syndicated content, they take a lot of wire reports or pool coverage. And there’s just very little money out there to fund-well, there’s a lot of money out there but none of it’s being spent on the important work of investigative journalism.”
“And you know, because “Democracy Now!” is an independent outlet, they have some more wherewithal and they can put funds into not only their own investigative work but uplifting the investigative journalism done by the rare mainstream outlet, or more frequently from independent outlets like “Dropsite News,” “The Intercept,” the “Marshall Project,” and “ProPublica” that are really filling that void.”
Carl Deal: “And can I add, there’s a place where I think there’s a really strong thread of commonality between what Amy Goodman and “Democracy Now’s” approach to journalism and our approach to documentary filmmaking and that is, that we’re all about the audience. It’s very community oriented because you know, a film isn’t a film unless there’s an audience with it. Watching a film with an audience is an intimate, communal experience and it’s pretty cool. As cliché as it sounds, it’s real.”
“And what Amy and “Democracy Now!” do is they’re all about serving their listeners, not serving anybody else. I’ve not seen any journalist love and appreciate their audience with the same kind of passion and respect that Amy does for hers.”
ITOL: I can see that in your film, and I was very impressed with that. One of the things that really impressed me about your film, and I call it the definitive documentary of our time, is that it shows the timeline of how we got here in our present day. You present a brief history of political events that lead us here. Was there any concern on either of your part that certain segments of the political spectrum might not appreciate the film?
Tia Lessin: “We hope audiences more than anything else appreciate this film and we’ve seen that over the life of this film, first on the festival circuit, now in the theatrical world, audiences are not only showing up, they’re embracing this film in ways that have never happened. We’ve had some successes in our careers with films, but this has blown us away. We’ve won eight Audience Awards, five more Jury Prizes; we broke box office records in New York City when we opened April 10th weekend. So whatever powers that be think of the film, and that remains to be seen, what’s most important to us is that audiences are responding, and that’s very exciting.”
Carl Deal: “Yeah, and we welcome the critique. If somebody doesn’t get pissed off over something we say or do, than we feel like we’re not doing our jobs.”
ITOL: This leads me to my last question. Some of my favorite scenes in your film are the ones that show the more intimate side of Amy, the personal cost of what she’s gone through and experienced in running “Democracy Now!” and covering stories. Was there any difficulty in saying to her that you would like to include those scenes as well?
Carl Deal: “We didn’t ask permission for anything, but I would say that Amy doesn’t do anything halfway. So once Amy agreed to participate as a subject and let herself be the center of our storytelling rather than the institution that she built, she was all in. She let us do our job, and you know it takes time [because] what we do is a little different than what she does. So, it did take time to get as personal as we were able to get.”
Tia Lessin: “I think that in the gravity of what has been happening in the world at this moment as we were making this film, particularly as we were finishing this film- it’s been unprecedented, the assaults on press freedoms. We made the decision as filmmakers to really keep the focus on Amy’s work. That’s not to say we don’t get glimpses of her emotionality and her personal life, but the real center of the story is this crisis in journalism. And she’s been navigating this crisis for decades, really. It has landed us in this moment.
“You know, Donald Trump is not in the film a lot, but he looms large over the entire narrative. So, the film is not just a portrait of Amy but it’s a resistance and it’s an argument for the free press. And I think in the end, particularly at the end, it’s a call to action against these dark forces that are trying to silence us. I think that’s why there has been such a response. It’s in the context in which we’re living and the fact that we need more voices and more outlets like Amy Goodman’s and “Democracy Now!” not fewer.”
ITOL: Totally agree! There’s this lovely balance between Amy the human being and Amy, the face of “Democracy Now!” and I think that’s one of the reasons this film resonates so much. People identify with Amy. We all want to be Amy.
Tia Lessin: “Well look, despite this daily drumbeat of dire coverage that “Democracy Now!” is broadcasting to the world, she has this lightness of being, and this optimism, and this hope. That really surprised us. Not only that, but she’s funny as hell. I think that lightness and joy pervades her and pervades the film. I feel we’ve certainly been buoyed by that, Carl and I, in these dark, difficult times. And I think that and community is what is going to get us through this moment and collective action. In order to have collective action, we all need information.”
“Just one other point, you asked about investigative journalism at the beginning of the interview. If ever we needed investigative journalism, gosh! If ever we needed hard-hitting investigative journalism, it’s now. When we’ve seen these abuses of power and corruption going not unnoticed but unchallenged, we need voices and outlets and civil society holding those in power to account. And this is in government, government officials; this is in the private sector, with corporate entities. It is investigative journalism and journalists asking hard questions and exposing wrongdoing that has been serving as a check against these abuses over the years. I think that’s why forces like Donald Trump are trying so hard to silence the free press because he knows-what is that expression? “Sunlight is the best disinfectant.” If ever we need some disinfectant, it’s right now!”
ITOL: You took the words right out of my mouth! I think that’s a great way to end the interview. Thank you both so much. I have a feeling we’ll be talking again when awards season comes around!
#AmyGoodman #CarlDeal #CurrentEvents #DemocracyNow #Documentary #FemaleFilmmaker #FilmFestival #FilmReview #IndependentFilm #InvestigativeJournalism #news #Review #TiaLessin #WomenInFilm -
CPFF 2026 Short Film Roundup
By Guest Reviewer Alexei Holloway
Review: Don’t Be Long, Little Bird
Year: 2025
Runtime: 23 min
Director: Reem Jubran
Actors: Banna Bazzarie, Muna Basha, and Clara Khoury
“Don’t be Long, Little Bird” is a short film that centers on the life of Palestinian women before the Nakba.
After arguing with her mother, Rima (Banna Bazzarie), an American born Palestinian teenager reunites with her Palestinian great-grandmother, also named Rima (Muna Basha) in 1930’s Palestine through the use of time travel. As Rima spends time with her great-grandmother, she realizes that while she once thought of nothing but escaping the familiar for the “exotic”, what she truly wanted was to return home all along.
The heart of the film is the life of Palestinian women before the Nakba. When we first meet Great-Grandma Rima she and her friend are playing around with a broken gun, laughing and pulling pranks on each other. The Zionist settlers are mentioned just once, but they have no presence in the film. They do not yet matter because Palestine has not yet been colonized. Great-Grandma Rima is part of a beautiful and loving community that eagerly welcomes teenage Rima even if she can’t provide straight answers on where she is from and how she arrived in Palestine.
However, there is tension within both Rimas. Great-Grandma Rima dreams of leaving her village and traveling to the city, but, instead, she is married off to teenage Rima’s future grandfather. Teenage Rima asks her mother if she married her father because she loved him or because she had to and her mother tells her when she was married she felt a suffocation in her chest until she had Rima and that Rima was the best thing that ever happened to her. This tension is not fully explored or satisfactorily resolved. Maybe it is something director Reem Jubran can explore in her future films.
Review: What a Pattern Tells
Year: 2025
Runtime: 15 min
Director: Bayan Abuta’ema
“What a Pattern Tells” is a brief look at the importance of embroidery in Palestinian life. It follows a day in the life of Aseel, a young Palestinian who hosts embroidery classes and has an embroidery circle, and Um Qusai, an elderly Palestinian who has her own embroidery circle and makes a living selling her embroidery.
The short film can be broken into two sections. The first section focuses on Um Qusai and her friends who have been embroidering all their lives. Um Qusai shows off books that detail the patterns used by their ancestors and explains how she uses those same patterns in her own embroideries to prevent the settlers from stealing their culture from them. Embroidering is more than a hobby. It is an active weapon against the erasure of Palestine and Palestinian culture and life.
The second part focuses on Aseel and her classes. She got into embroidery to reclaim a part of herself and realized that she could share that gift with hers by hosting classes. In one year, she taught 30 classes to people of all ages. She also has an embroidery circle (and one adorable fluffy cat) that meets weekly and each member of the circle expresses similar sentiments to Aseel. They embroider because it connects them to the past, to themselves, and to each other.
While the film is an important look into the importance of embroidery, it lacks a firm structure. Additionally, given its short run time, it doesn’t have time to delve into embroidery and its importance, providing us only a big picture view of something that is vital to Palestinian identity. Hopefully, Director Bayan Abuta’ema can return to this subject in a longer feature.
#ChicagoPalestineFilmFestival #FemaleCharacters #FemaleDirectors #FemaleFilmmaker #FilmReview #Palestine #Review #ShortFilm #WomenInFilm -
CPFF 2026 Short Film Roundup
By Guest Reviewer Alexei Holloway
Review: Don’t Be Long, Little Bird
Year: 2025
Runtime: 23 min
Director: Reem Jubran
Actors: Banna Bazzarie, Muna Basha, and Clara Khoury
“Don’t be Long, Little Bird” is a short film that centers on the life of Palestinian women before the Nakba.
After arguing with her mother, Rima (Banna Bazzarie), an American born Palestinian teenager reunites with her Palestinian great-grandmother, also named Rima (Muna Basha) in 1930’s Palestine through the use of time travel. As Rima spends time with her great-grandmother, she realizes that while she once thought of nothing but escaping the familiar for the “exotic”, what she truly wanted was to return home all along.
The heart of the film is the life of Palestinian women before the Nakba. When we first meet Great-Grandma Rima she and her friend are playing around with a broken gun, laughing and pulling pranks on each other. The Zionist settlers are mentioned just once, but they have no presence in the film. They do not yet matter because Palestine has not yet been colonized. Great-Grandma Rima is part of a beautiful and loving community that eagerly welcomes teenage Rima even if she can’t provide straight answers on where she is from and how she arrived in Palestine.
However, there is tension within both Rimas. Great-Grandma Rima dreams of leaving her village and traveling to the city, but, instead, she is married off to teenage Rima’s future grandfather. Teenage Rima asks her mother if she married her father because she loved him or because she had to and her mother tells her when she was married she felt a suffocation in her chest until she had Rima and that Rima was the best thing that ever happened to her. This tension is not fully explored or satisfactorily resolved. Maybe it is something director Reem Jubran can explore in her future films.
Review: What a Pattern Tells
Year: 2025
Runtime: 15 min
Director: Bayan Abuta’ema
“What a Pattern Tells” is a brief look at the importance of embroidery in Palestinian life. It follows a day in the life of Aseel, a young Palestinian who hosts embroidery classes and has an embroidery circle, and Um Qusai, an elderly Palestinian who has her own embroidery circle and makes a living selling her embroidery.
The short film can be broken into two sections. The first section focuses on Um Qusai and her friends who have been embroidering all their lives. Um Qusai shows off books that detail the patterns used by their ancestors and explains how she uses those same patterns in her own embroideries to prevent the settlers from stealing their culture from them. Embroidering is more than a hobby. It is an active weapon against the erasure of Palestine and Palestinian culture and life.
The second part focuses on Aseel and her classes. She got into embroidery to reclaim a part of herself and realized that she could share that gift with hers by hosting classes. In one year, she taught 30 classes to people of all ages. She also has an embroidery circle (and one adorable fluffy cat) that meets weekly and each member of the circle expresses similar sentiments to Aseel. They embroider because it connects them to the past, to themselves, and to each other.
While the film is an important look into the importance of embroidery, it lacks a firm structure. Additionally, given its short run time, it doesn’t have time to delve into embroidery and its importance, providing us only a big picture view of something that is vital to Palestinian identity. Hopefully, Director Bayan Abuta’ema can return to this subject in a longer feature.
#ChicagoPalestineFilmFestival #FemaleCharacters #FemaleDirectors #FemaleFilmmaker #FilmReview #Palestine #Review #ShortFilm #WomenInFilm -
CPFF 2026 Short Film Roundup
By Guest Reviewer Alexei Holloway
Review: Don’t Be Long, Little Bird
Year: 2025
Runtime: 23 min
Director: Reem Jubran
Actors: Banna Bazzarie, Muna Basha, and Clara Khoury
“Don’t be Long, Little Bird” is a short film that centers on the life of Palestinian women before the Nakba.
After arguing with her mother, Rima (Banna Bazzarie), an American born Palestinian teenager reunites with her Palestinian great-grandmother, also named Rima (Muna Basha) in 1930’s Palestine through the use of time travel. As Rima spends time with her great-grandmother, she realizes that while she once thought of nothing but escaping the familiar for the “exotic”, what she truly wanted was to return home all along.
The heart of the film is the life of Palestinian women before the Nakba. When we first meet Great-Grandma Rima she and her friend are playing around with a broken gun, laughing and pulling pranks on each other. The Zionist settlers are mentioned just once, but they have no presence in the film. They do not yet matter because Palestine has not yet been colonized. Great-Grandma Rima is part of a beautiful and loving community that eagerly welcomes teenage Rima even if she can’t provide straight answers on where she is from and how she arrived in Palestine.
However, there is tension within both Rimas. Great-Grandma Rima dreams of leaving her village and traveling to the city, but, instead, she is married off to teenage Rima’s future grandfather. Teenage Rima asks her mother if she married her father because she loved him or because she had to and her mother tells her when she was married she felt a suffocation in her chest until she had Rima and that Rima was the best thing that ever happened to her. This tension is not fully explored or satisfactorily resolved. Maybe it is something director Reem Jubran can explore in her future films.
Review: What a Pattern Tells
Year: 2025
Runtime: 15 min
Director: Bayan Abuta’ema
“What a Pattern Tells” is a brief look at the importance of embroidery in Palestinian life. It follows a day in the life of Aseel, a young Palestinian who hosts embroidery classes and has an embroidery circle, and Um Qusai, an elderly Palestinian who has her own embroidery circle and makes a living selling her embroidery.
The short film can be broken into two sections. The first section focuses on Um Qusai and her friends who have been embroidering all their lives. Um Qusai shows off books that detail the patterns used by their ancestors and explains how she uses those same patterns in her own embroideries to prevent the settlers from stealing their culture from them. Embroidering is more than a hobby. It is an active weapon against the erasure of Palestine and Palestinian culture and life.
The second part focuses on Aseel and her classes. She got into embroidery to reclaim a part of herself and realized that she could share that gift with hers by hosting classes. In one year, she taught 30 classes to people of all ages. She also has an embroidery circle (and one adorable fluffy cat) that meets weekly and each member of the circle expresses similar sentiments to Aseel. They embroider because it connects them to the past, to themselves, and to each other.
While the film is an important look into the importance of embroidery, it lacks a firm structure. Additionally, given its short run time, it doesn’t have time to delve into embroidery and its importance, providing us only a big picture view of something that is vital to Palestinian identity. Hopefully, Director Bayan Abuta’ema can return to this subject in a longer feature.
#ChicagoPalestineFilmFestival #FemaleCharacters #FemaleDirectors #FemaleFilmmaker #FilmReview #Palestine #Review #ShortFilm #WomenInFilm -
CPFF 2026 Short Film Roundup
By Guest Reviewer Alexei Holloway
Review: Don’t Be Long, Little Bird
Year: 2025
Runtime: 23 min
Director: Reem Jubran
Actors: Banna Bazzarie, Muna Basha, and Clara Khoury
“Don’t be Long, Little Bird” is a short film that centers on the life of Palestinian women before the Nakba.
After arguing with her mother, Rima (Banna Bazzarie), an American born Palestinian teenager reunites with her Palestinian great-grandmother, also named Rima (Muna Basha) in 1930’s Palestine through the use of time travel. As Rima spends time with her great-grandmother, she realizes that while she once thought of nothing but escaping the familiar for the “exotic”, what she truly wanted was to return home all along.
The heart of the film is the life of Palestinian women before the Nakba. When we first meet Great-Grandma Rima she and her friend are playing around with a broken gun, laughing and pulling pranks on each other. The Zionist settlers are mentioned just once, but they have no presence in the film. They do not yet matter because Palestine has not yet been colonized. Great-Grandma Rima is part of a beautiful and loving community that eagerly welcomes teenage Rima even if she can’t provide straight answers on where she is from and how she arrived in Palestine.
However, there is tension within both Rimas. Great-Grandma Rima dreams of leaving her village and traveling to the city, but, instead, she is married off to teenage Rima’s future grandfather. Teenage Rima asks her mother if she married her father because she loved him or because she had to and her mother tells her when she was married she felt a suffocation in her chest until she had Rima and that Rima was the best thing that ever happened to her. This tension is not fully explored or satisfactorily resolved. Maybe it is something director Reem Jubran can explore in her future films.
Review: What a Pattern Tells
Year: 2025
Runtime: 15 min
Director: Bayan Abuta’ema
“What a Pattern Tells” is a brief look at the importance of embroidery in Palestinian life. It follows a day in the life of Aseel, a young Palestinian who hosts embroidery classes and has an embroidery circle, and Um Qusai, an elderly Palestinian who has her own embroidery circle and makes a living selling her embroidery.
The short film can be broken into two sections. The first section focuses on Um Qusai and her friends who have been embroidering all their lives. Um Qusai shows off books that detail the patterns used by their ancestors and explains how she uses those same patterns in her own embroideries to prevent the settlers from stealing their culture from them. Embroidering is more than a hobby. It is an active weapon against the erasure of Palestine and Palestinian culture and life.
The second part focuses on Aseel and her classes. She got into embroidery to reclaim a part of herself and realized that she could share that gift with hers by hosting classes. In one year, she taught 30 classes to people of all ages. She also has an embroidery circle (and one adorable fluffy cat) that meets weekly and each member of the circle expresses similar sentiments to Aseel. They embroider because it connects them to the past, to themselves, and to each other.
While the film is an important look into the importance of embroidery, it lacks a firm structure. Additionally, given its short run time, it doesn’t have time to delve into embroidery and its importance, providing us only a big picture view of something that is vital to Palestinian identity. Hopefully, Director Bayan Abuta’ema can return to this subject in a longer feature.
#ChicagoPalestineFilmFestival #FemaleCharacters #FemaleDirectors #FemaleFilmmaker #FilmReview #Palestine #Review #ShortFilm #WomenInFilm -
CPFF 2026 Short Film Roundup
By Guest Reviewer Alexei Holloway
Review: Don’t Be Long, Little Bird
Year: 2025
Runtime: 23 min
Director: Reem Jubran
Actors: Banna Bazzarie, Muna Basha, and Clara Khoury
“Don’t be Long, Little Bird” is a short film that centers on the life of Palestinian women before the Nakba.
After arguing with her mother, Rima (Banna Bazzarie), an American born Palestinian teenager reunites with her Palestinian great-grandmother, also named Rima (Muna Basha) in 1930’s Palestine through the use of time travel. As Rima spends time with her great-grandmother, she realizes that while she once thought of nothing but escaping the familiar for the “exotic”, what she truly wanted was to return home all along.
The heart of the film is the life of Palestinian women before the Nakba. When we first meet Great-Grandma Rima she and her friend are playing around with a broken gun, laughing and pulling pranks on each other. The Zionist settlers are mentioned just once, but they have no presence in the film. They do not yet matter because Palestine has not yet been colonized. Great-Grandma Rima is part of a beautiful and loving community that eagerly welcomes teenage Rima even if she can’t provide straight answers on where she is from and how she arrived in Palestine.
However, there is tension within both Rimas. Great-Grandma Rima dreams of leaving her village and traveling to the city, but, instead, she is married off to teenage Rima’s future grandfather. Teenage Rima asks her mother if she married her father because she loved him or because she had to and her mother tells her when she was married she felt a suffocation in her chest until she had Rima and that Rima was the best thing that ever happened to her. This tension is not fully explored or satisfactorily resolved. Maybe it is something director Reem Jubran can explore in her future films.
Review: What a Pattern Tells
Year: 2025
Runtime: 15 min
Director: Bayan Abuta’ema
“What a Pattern Tells” is a brief look at the importance of embroidery in Palestinian life. It follows a day in the life of Aseel, a young Palestinian who hosts embroidery classes and has an embroidery circle, and Um Qusai, an elderly Palestinian who has her own embroidery circle and makes a living selling her embroidery.
The short film can be broken into two sections. The first section focuses on Um Qusai and her friends who have been embroidering all their lives. Um Qusai shows off books that detail the patterns used by their ancestors and explains how she uses those same patterns in her own embroideries to prevent the settlers from stealing their culture from them. Embroidering is more than a hobby. It is an active weapon against the erasure of Palestine and Palestinian culture and life.
The second part focuses on Aseel and her classes. She got into embroidery to reclaim a part of herself and realized that she could share that gift with hers by hosting classes. In one year, she taught 30 classes to people of all ages. She also has an embroidery circle (and one adorable fluffy cat) that meets weekly and each member of the circle expresses similar sentiments to Aseel. They embroider because it connects them to the past, to themselves, and to each other.
While the film is an important look into the importance of embroidery, it lacks a firm structure. Additionally, given its short run time, it doesn’t have time to delve into embroidery and its importance, providing us only a big picture view of something that is vital to Palestinian identity. Hopefully, Director Bayan Abuta’ema can return to this subject in a longer feature.
#ChicagoPalestineFilmFestival #FemaleCharacters #FemaleDirectors #FemaleFilmmaker #FilmReview #Palestine #Review #ShortFilm #WomenInFilm -
CPFF2026 Review: Sink
Year: 2025
Runtime: 88 min
Director/Writer: Zain Duraie
Actors: Clara Khoury, Mohammad Nizar, and Wissam Tobaileh
By Guest Reviewer Alexei Holloway
“Sink” (2025) is a heartrending look at a family coming to terms with their son’s mental illness.
Basil (Mohammad Nizar) is the middle child of a middle-class, Jordanian family. While he is brilliant, he struggles socially and prefers spending time alone studying and watching videos on open heart surgery. He wants to be a heart surgeon. His oldest brother is the charming all-star basketball player and his sister is the cute and sweet little sister. His father travels for his work and while he adores his oldest and youngest children, he has a hard time connecting with his middle child. Basil’s mother, Nadia (Clara Khoury) adores him and is his biggest supporter and champion.
Nadia’s love for her son and his father’s distance prevent both parents from recognizing and acknowledging that Basil needs help. However, their ignorance is shattered when Basil is suspended for hitting a teacher. We see the events that lead up to the supposed assault, but we don’t see the assault itself, leaving it up to the audience to decide who is telling the truth: the school or Basil, who claims it was an accident. The father sides with the school while Nadia sides with her son.
Their eldest son has a championship game out of the city. The rest of the family goes to the game while Basil and Nadia remain home. Nadia believes if they have a few days alone, she can reach her son and “fix” whatever the problem is. Their loving moments of reconnecting are with many alarming moments such as when Basil wakes her up while wearing a horse mask and forces her to wear a bunny mask and then grunts at her and when he goes to a park with a chicken coop and tries to murder the chickens.
Basil’s parents schedule a therapist but he refuses to go and lashes out, hurting his mother in the process. Horrified by what he’s done, Basil reports himself to the police. When the police arrive, Nadia rushes to her son’s side and sits with him in the ambulance, holding his hands, making it clear that she will remain by his side no matter what.
“Sink” can be a difficult watch as Nadia struggles with accepting that her son needs help and Basil grows increasingly unpredictable. Clara Khoury gives an outstanding performance as her love for her son is always present, even when she is terrified of him. She never gives up on him, even when he attacks her, and yet she can’t stop her heart from breaking when she realizes she isn’t sure she can help him. Mohammad Nizar gives a truly moving performance as a teen who knows he is different but doesn’t understand why. Nizar never allows Basil to be a monster. He makes Basil adorably at ease when he is playing with his little sister, letting her put makeup on him and playing charades, and helping his mother around the house and, even when Basil is at his most threatening, he is not a cruel psychopath. He is a lost and struggling child who doesn’t have the tools to help him survive in a neurotypical world.
#ChicagoPalestineFilmFestival #ClaraKhoury #FemaleCharacters #FemaleDirectors #FemaleFilmmaker #FilmFestival #FilmReview #MentalHealth #Palestine #Review #Underpresented #WomenInFilm #WorldCinema #ZainDuraie -
CPFF2026 Review: Sink
Year: 2025
Runtime: 88 min
Director/Writer: Zain Duraie
Actors: Clara Khoury, Mohammad Nizar, and Wissam Tobaileh
By Guest Reviewer Alexei Holloway
“Sink” (2025) is a heartrending look at a family coming to terms with their son’s mental illness.
Basil (Mohammad Nizar) is the middle child of a middle-class, Jordanian family. While he is brilliant, he struggles socially and prefers spending time alone studying and watching videos on open heart surgery. He wants to be a heart surgeon. His oldest brother is the charming all-star basketball player and his sister is the cute and sweet little sister. His father travels for his work and while he adores his oldest and youngest children, he has a hard time connecting with his middle child. Basil’s mother, Nadia (Clara Khoury) adores him and is his biggest supporter and champion.
Nadia’s love for her son and his father’s distance prevent both parents from recognizing and acknowledging that Basil needs help. However, their ignorance is shattered when Basil is suspended for hitting a teacher. We see the events that lead up to the supposed assault, but we don’t see the assault itself, leaving it up to the audience to decide who is telling the truth: the school or Basil, who claims it was an accident. The father sides with the school while Nadia sides with her son.
Their eldest son has a championship game out of the city. The rest of the family goes to the game while Basil and Nadia remain home. Nadia believes if they have a few days alone, she can reach her son and “fix” whatever the problem is. Their loving moments of reconnecting are with many alarming moments such as when Basil wakes her up while wearing a horse mask and forces her to wear a bunny mask and then grunts at her and when he goes to a park with a chicken coop and tries to murder the chickens.
Basil’s parents schedule a therapist but he refuses to go and lashes out, hurting his mother in the process. Horrified by what he’s done, Basil reports himself to the police. When the police arrive, Nadia rushes to her son’s side and sits with him in the ambulance, holding his hands, making it clear that she will remain by his side no matter what.
“Sink” can be a difficult watch as Nadia struggles with accepting that her son needs help and Basil grows increasingly unpredictable. Clara Khoury gives an outstanding performance as her love for her son is always present, even when she is terrified of him. She never gives up on him, even when he attacks her, and yet she can’t stop her heart from breaking when she realizes she isn’t sure she can help him. Mohammad Nizar gives a truly moving performance as a teen who knows he is different but doesn’t understand why. Nizar never allows Basil to be a monster. He makes Basil adorably at ease when he is playing with his little sister, letting her put makeup on him and playing charades, and helping his mother around the house and, even when Basil is at his most threatening, he is not a cruel psychopath. He is a lost and struggling child who doesn’t have the tools to help him survive in a neurotypical world.
#ChicagoPalestineFilmFestival #ClaraKhoury #FemaleCharacters #FemaleDirectors #FemaleFilmmaker #FilmFestival #FilmReview #MentalHealth #Palestine #Review #Underpresented #WomenInFilm #WorldCinema #ZainDuraie -
CPFF2026 Review: Sink
Year: 2025
Runtime: 88 min
Director/Writer: Zain Duraie
Actors: Clara Khoury, Mohammad Nizar, and Wissam Tobaileh
By Guest Reviewer Alexei Holloway
“Sink” (2025) is a heartrending look at a family coming to terms with their son’s mental illness.
Basil (Mohammad Nizar) is the middle child of a middle-class, Jordanian family. While he is brilliant, he struggles socially and prefers spending time alone studying and watching videos on open heart surgery. He wants to be a heart surgeon. His oldest brother is the charming all-star basketball player and his sister is the cute and sweet little sister. His father travels for his work and while he adores his oldest and youngest children, he has a hard time connecting with his middle child. Basil’s mother, Nadia (Clara Khoury) adores him and is his biggest supporter and champion.
Nadia’s love for her son and his father’s distance prevent both parents from recognizing and acknowledging that Basil needs help. However, their ignorance is shattered when Basil is suspended for hitting a teacher. We see the events that lead up to the supposed assault, but we don’t see the assault itself, leaving it up to the audience to decide who is telling the truth: the school or Basil, who claims it was an accident. The father sides with the school while Nadia sides with her son.
Their eldest son has a championship game out of the city. The rest of the family goes to the game while Basil and Nadia remain home. Nadia believes if they have a few days alone, she can reach her son and “fix” whatever the problem is. Their loving moments of reconnecting are with many alarming moments such as when Basil wakes her up while wearing a horse mask and forces her to wear a bunny mask and then grunts at her and when he goes to a park with a chicken coop and tries to murder the chickens.
Basil’s parents schedule a therapist but he refuses to go and lashes out, hurting his mother in the process. Horrified by what he’s done, Basil reports himself to the police. When the police arrive, Nadia rushes to her son’s side and sits with him in the ambulance, holding his hands, making it clear that she will remain by his side no matter what.
“Sink” can be a difficult watch as Nadia struggles with accepting that her son needs help and Basil grows increasingly unpredictable. Clara Khoury gives an outstanding performance as her love for her son is always present, even when she is terrified of him. She never gives up on him, even when he attacks her, and yet she can’t stop her heart from breaking when she realizes she isn’t sure she can help him. Mohammad Nizar gives a truly moving performance as a teen who knows he is different but doesn’t understand why. Nizar never allows Basil to be a monster. He makes Basil adorably at ease when he is playing with his little sister, letting her put makeup on him and playing charades, and helping his mother around the house and, even when Basil is at his most threatening, he is not a cruel psychopath. He is a lost and struggling child who doesn’t have the tools to help him survive in a neurotypical world.
#ChicagoPalestineFilmFestival #ClaraKhoury #FemaleCharacters #FemaleDirectors #FemaleFilmmaker #FilmFestival #FilmReview #MentalHealth #Palestine #Review #Underpresented #WomenInFilm #WorldCinema #ZainDuraie -
CPFF2026 Review: Sink
Year: 2025
Runtime: 88 min
Director/Writer: Zain Duraie
Actors: Clara Khoury, Mohammad Nizar, and Wissam Tobaileh
By Guest Reviewer Alexei Holloway
“Sink” (2025) is a heartrending look at a family coming to terms with their son’s mental illness.
Basil (Mohammad Nizar) is the middle child of a middle-class, Jordanian family. While he is brilliant, he struggles socially and prefers spending time alone studying and watching videos on open heart surgery. He wants to be a heart surgeon. His oldest brother is the charming all-star basketball player and his sister is the cute and sweet little sister. His father travels for his work and while he adores his oldest and youngest children, he has a hard time connecting with his middle child. Basil’s mother, Nadia (Clara Khoury) adores him and is his biggest supporter and champion.
Nadia’s love for her son and his father’s distance prevent both parents from recognizing and acknowledging that Basil needs help. However, their ignorance is shattered when Basil is suspended for hitting a teacher. We see the events that lead up to the supposed assault, but we don’t see the assault itself, leaving it up to the audience to decide who is telling the truth: the school or Basil, who claims it was an accident. The father sides with the school while Nadia sides with her son.
Their eldest son has a championship game out of the city. The rest of the family goes to the game while Basil and Nadia remain home. Nadia believes if they have a few days alone, she can reach her son and “fix” whatever the problem is. Their loving moments of reconnecting are with many alarming moments such as when Basil wakes her up while wearing a horse mask and forces her to wear a bunny mask and then grunts at her and when he goes to a park with a chicken coop and tries to murder the chickens.
Basil’s parents schedule a therapist but he refuses to go and lashes out, hurting his mother in the process. Horrified by what he’s done, Basil reports himself to the police. When the police arrive, Nadia rushes to her son’s side and sits with him in the ambulance, holding his hands, making it clear that she will remain by his side no matter what.
“Sink” can be a difficult watch as Nadia struggles with accepting that her son needs help and Basil grows increasingly unpredictable. Clara Khoury gives an outstanding performance as her love for her son is always present, even when she is terrified of him. She never gives up on him, even when he attacks her, and yet she can’t stop her heart from breaking when she realizes she isn’t sure she can help him. Mohammad Nizar gives a truly moving performance as a teen who knows he is different but doesn’t understand why. Nizar never allows Basil to be a monster. He makes Basil adorably at ease when he is playing with his little sister, letting her put makeup on him and playing charades, and helping his mother around the house and, even when Basil is at his most threatening, he is not a cruel psychopath. He is a lost and struggling child who doesn’t have the tools to help him survive in a neurotypical world.
#ChicagoPalestineFilmFestival #ClaraKhoury #FemaleCharacters #FemaleDirectors #FemaleFilmmaker #FilmFestival #FilmReview #MentalHealth #Palestine #Review #Underpresented #WomenInFilm #WorldCinema #ZainDuraie -
CPFF2026 Review: Sink
Year: 2025
Runtime: 88 min
Director/Writer: Zain Duraie
Actors: Clara Khoury, Mohammad Nizar, and Wissam Tobaileh
By Guest Reviewer Alexei Holloway
“Sink” (2025) is a heartrending look at a family coming to terms with their son’s mental illness.
Basil (Mohammad Nizar) is the middle child of a middle-class, Jordanian family. While he is brilliant, he struggles socially and prefers spending time alone studying and watching videos on open heart surgery. He wants to be a heart surgeon. His oldest brother is the charming all-star basketball player and his sister is the cute and sweet little sister. His father travels for his work and while he adores his oldest and youngest children, he has a hard time connecting with his middle child. Basil’s mother, Nadia (Clara Khoury) adores him and is his biggest supporter and champion.
Nadia’s love for her son and his father’s distance prevent both parents from recognizing and acknowledging that Basil needs help. However, their ignorance is shattered when Basil is suspended for hitting a teacher. We see the events that lead up to the supposed assault, but we don’t see the assault itself, leaving it up to the audience to decide who is telling the truth: the school or Basil, who claims it was an accident. The father sides with the school while Nadia sides with her son.
Their eldest son has a championship game out of the city. The rest of the family goes to the game while Basil and Nadia remain home. Nadia believes if they have a few days alone, she can reach her son and “fix” whatever the problem is. Their loving moments of reconnecting are with many alarming moments such as when Basil wakes her up while wearing a horse mask and forces her to wear a bunny mask and then grunts at her and when he goes to a park with a chicken coop and tries to murder the chickens.
Basil’s parents schedule a therapist but he refuses to go and lashes out, hurting his mother in the process. Horrified by what he’s done, Basil reports himself to the police. When the police arrive, Nadia rushes to her son’s side and sits with him in the ambulance, holding his hands, making it clear that she will remain by his side no matter what.
“Sink” can be a difficult watch as Nadia struggles with accepting that her son needs help and Basil grows increasingly unpredictable. Clara Khoury gives an outstanding performance as her love for her son is always present, even when she is terrified of him. She never gives up on him, even when he attacks her, and yet she can’t stop her heart from breaking when she realizes she isn’t sure she can help him. Mohammad Nizar gives a truly moving performance as a teen who knows he is different but doesn’t understand why. Nizar never allows Basil to be a monster. He makes Basil adorably at ease when he is playing with his little sister, letting her put makeup on him and playing charades, and helping his mother around the house and, even when Basil is at his most threatening, he is not a cruel psychopath. He is a lost and struggling child who doesn’t have the tools to help him survive in a neurotypical world.
#ChicagoPalestineFilmFestival #ClaraKhoury #FemaleCharacters #FemaleDirectors #FemaleFilmmaker #FilmFestival #FilmReview #MentalHealth #Palestine #Review #Underpresented #WomenInFilm #WorldCinema #ZainDuraie -
CPFF 2026 Review: Thank You for Banking with Us
Year: 2024
Runtime: 92 minutes
Writer/Director: Laila Abbas
Actors: Yasime Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Adam Khattar, Salwa Nakkara
By Guest Reviewer Alexei Holloway
“Thank You For Banking With Us” (2024) is a funny and moving look at sisterhood and challenging the patriarchy.
Noura (Yasime Al Massri) and Maryam (Clara Khoury) are estranged sisters with less than perfect lives. Noura is a beauty clinician who cares for their ailing father while Maryam is stuck in a loveless marriage with children she no longer feels connected to. When their father dies, the two work together to take their father’s money out of the bank before their absent and judgmental brother who lives in America comes along and takes the money and half the house (per Sharia law).
What follows is a funny pseudo-heist as the sisters bounce off of obstacle after obstacle trying to navigate a deeply patriarchal society and arguing with each other. While looking for help from every man they know, they are constantly shut down, told they are sinners and ungrateful daughters, and have no right to ask for that money. Yet, their brother never bothered to care for their father or check in on his sisters. It was Noura and Maryam who cared for their father, feeding him, cleaning up after him, checking in on him. Why should their brother get both the money and half the house when he did nothing? Why do male relatives, husbands, and lovers have the right to tell these women no when they’ve done nothing to help Noura and Maryam survive?
Clara Khoury and Yasmine Al Massri are a powerful and hilarious duo. When they are not cursing and arguing with the unhelpful men in their lives, they are arguing with each other, pulling up old wounds and half-remembered fights from their past like real siblings. Yet, when they see how the other lives and are betrayed by the men they are supposed to be able to rely on, they realize all they have ever had is each other. That will never stop them from fighting, but it helps bring them closer together and, with a little help from Maryam’s youngest son Ali (Adam Khattar) enables them to finally work together to get the money they deserve and to properly lay their father to rest. By the end, one hopes that their newly rekindled friendship can also prevent Maryam’s sons from turning into the very men who did nothing to help the women retrieve their rightful inheritance.
#ChicagoPalestineFilmFestival #Comedy #ElderCare #FemaleCharacter #FemaleCharacters #FemaleDirectors #FemaleFilmmaker #FilmFestival #FilmReview #Heist #Palestine #ShariaLaw #UnderrepresentedInFilm #WomenInFilm -
CPFF 2026 Review: Thank You for Banking with Us
Year: 2024
Runtime: 92 minutes
Writer/Director: Laila Abbas
Actors: Yasime Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Adam Khattar, Salwa Nakkara
By Guest Reviewer Alexei Holloway
“Thank You For Banking With Us” (2024) is a funny and moving look at sisterhood and challenging the patriarchy.
Noura (Yasime Al Massri) and Maryam (Clara Khoury) are estranged sisters with less than perfect lives. Noura is a beauty clinician who cares for their ailing father while Maryam is stuck in a loveless marriage with children she no longer feels connected to. When their father dies, the two work together to take their father’s money out of the bank before their absent and judgmental brother who lives in America comes along and takes the money and half the house (per Sharia law).
What follows is a funny pseudo-heist as the sisters bounce off of obstacle after obstacle trying to navigate a deeply patriarchal society and arguing with each other. While looking for help from every man they know, they are constantly shut down, told they are sinners and ungrateful daughters, and have no right to ask for that money. Yet, their brother never bothered to care for their father or check in on his sisters. It was Noura and Maryam who cared for their father, feeding him, cleaning up after him, checking in on him. Why should their brother get both the money and half the house when he did nothing? Why do male relatives, husbands, and lovers have the right to tell these women no when they’ve done nothing to help Noura and Maryam survive?
Clara Khoury and Yasmine Al Massri are a powerful and hilarious duo. When they are not cursing and arguing with the unhelpful men in their lives, they are arguing with each other, pulling up old wounds and half-remembered fights from their past like real siblings. Yet, when they see how the other lives and are betrayed by the men they are supposed to be able to rely on, they realize all they have ever had is each other. That will never stop them from fighting, but it helps bring them closer together and, with a little help from Maryam’s youngest son Ali (Adam Khattar) enables them to finally work together to get the money they deserve and to properly lay their father to rest. By the end, one hopes that their newly rekindled friendship can also prevent Maryam’s sons from turning into the very men who did nothing to help the women retrieve their rightful inheritance.
#ChicagoPalestineFilmFestival #Comedy #ElderCare #FemaleCharacter #FemaleCharacters #FemaleDirectors #FemaleFilmmaker #FilmFestival #FilmReview #Heist #Palestine #ShariaLaw #UnderrepresentedInFilm #WomenInFilm -
CPFF 2026 Review: Thank You for Banking with Us
Year: 2024
Runtime: 92 minutes
Writer/Director: Laila Abbas
Actors: Yasime Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Adam Khattar, Salwa Nakkara
By Guest Reviewer Alexei Holloway
“Thank You For Banking With Us” (2024) is a funny and moving look at sisterhood and challenging the patriarchy.
Noura (Yasime Al Massri) and Maryam (Clara Khoury) are estranged sisters with less than perfect lives. Noura is a beauty clinician who cares for their ailing father while Maryam is stuck in a loveless marriage with children she no longer feels connected to. When their father dies, the two work together to take their father’s money out of the bank before their absent and judgmental brother who lives in America comes along and takes the money and half the house (per Sharia law).
What follows is a funny pseudo-heist as the sisters bounce off of obstacle after obstacle trying to navigate a deeply patriarchal society and arguing with each other. While looking for help from every man they know, they are constantly shut down, told they are sinners and ungrateful daughters, and have no right to ask for that money. Yet, their brother never bothered to care for their father or check in on his sisters. It was Noura and Maryam who cared for their father, feeding him, cleaning up after him, checking in on him. Why should their brother get both the money and half the house when he did nothing? Why do male relatives, husbands, and lovers have the right to tell these women no when they’ve done nothing to help Noura and Maryam survive?
Clara Khoury and Yasmine Al Massri are a powerful and hilarious duo. When they are not cursing and arguing with the unhelpful men in their lives, they are arguing with each other, pulling up old wounds and half-remembered fights from their past like real siblings. Yet, when they see how the other lives and are betrayed by the men they are supposed to be able to rely on, they realize all they have ever had is each other. That will never stop them from fighting, but it helps bring them closer together and, with a little help from Maryam’s youngest son Ali (Adam Khattar) enables them to finally work together to get the money they deserve and to properly lay their father to rest. By the end, one hopes that their newly rekindled friendship can also prevent Maryam’s sons from turning into the very men who did nothing to help the women retrieve their rightful inheritance.
#ChicagoPalestineFilmFestival #Comedy #ElderCare #FemaleCharacter #FemaleCharacters #FemaleDirectors #FemaleFilmmaker #FilmFestival #FilmReview #Heist #Palestine #ShariaLaw #UnderrepresentedInFilm #WomenInFilm -
CPFF 2026 Review: Thank You for Banking with Us
Year: 2024
Runtime: 92 minutes
Writer/Director: Laila Abbas
Actors: Yasime Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Adam Khattar, Salwa Nakkara
By Guest Reviewer Alexei Holloway
“Thank You For Banking With Us” (2024) is a funny and moving look at sisterhood and challenging the patriarchy.
Noura (Yasime Al Massri) and Maryam (Clara Khoury) are estranged sisters with less than perfect lives. Noura is a beauty clinician who cares for their ailing father while Maryam is stuck in a loveless marriage with children she no longer feels connected to. When their father dies, the two work together to take their father’s money out of the bank before their absent and judgmental brother who lives in America comes along and takes the money and half the house (per Sharia law).
What follows is a funny pseudo-heist as the sisters bounce off of obstacle after obstacle trying to navigate a deeply patriarchal society and arguing with each other. While looking for help from every man they know, they are constantly shut down, told they are sinners and ungrateful daughters, and have no right to ask for that money. Yet, their brother never bothered to care for their father or check in on his sisters. It was Noura and Maryam who cared for their father, feeding him, cleaning up after him, checking in on him. Why should their brother get both the money and half the house when he did nothing? Why do male relatives, husbands, and lovers have the right to tell these women no when they’ve done nothing to help Noura and Maryam survive?
Clara Khoury and Yasmine Al Massri are a powerful and hilarious duo. When they are not cursing and arguing with the unhelpful men in their lives, they are arguing with each other, pulling up old wounds and half-remembered fights from their past like real siblings. Yet, when they see how the other lives and are betrayed by the men they are supposed to be able to rely on, they realize all they have ever had is each other. That will never stop them from fighting, but it helps bring them closer together and, with a little help from Maryam’s youngest son Ali (Adam Khattar) enables them to finally work together to get the money they deserve and to properly lay their father to rest. By the end, one hopes that their newly rekindled friendship can also prevent Maryam’s sons from turning into the very men who did nothing to help the women retrieve their rightful inheritance.
#ChicagoPalestineFilmFestival #Comedy #ElderCare #FemaleCharacter #FemaleCharacters #FemaleDirectors #FemaleFilmmaker #FilmFestival #FilmReview #Heist #Palestine #ShariaLaw #UnderrepresentedInFilm #WomenInFilm -
CPFF 2026 Review: Thank You for Banking with Us
Year: 2024
Runtime: 92 minutes
Writer/Director: Laila Abbas
Actors: Yasime Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Adam Khattar, Salwa Nakkara
By Guest Reviewer Alexei Holloway
“Thank You For Banking With Us” (2024) is a funny and moving look at sisterhood and challenging the patriarchy.
Noura (Yasime Al Massri) and Maryam (Clara Khoury) are estranged sisters with less than perfect lives. Noura is a beauty clinician who cares for their ailing father while Maryam is stuck in a loveless marriage with children she no longer feels connected to. When their father dies, the two work together to take their father’s money out of the bank before their absent and judgmental brother who lives in America comes along and takes the money and half the house (per Sharia law).
What follows is a funny pseudo-heist as the sisters bounce off of obstacle after obstacle trying to navigate a deeply patriarchal society and arguing with each other. While looking for help from every man they know, they are constantly shut down, told they are sinners and ungrateful daughters, and have no right to ask for that money. Yet, their brother never bothered to care for their father or check in on his sisters. It was Noura and Maryam who cared for their father, feeding him, cleaning up after him, checking in on him. Why should their brother get both the money and half the house when he did nothing? Why do male relatives, husbands, and lovers have the right to tell these women no when they’ve done nothing to help Noura and Maryam survive?
Clara Khoury and Yasmine Al Massri are a powerful and hilarious duo. When they are not cursing and arguing with the unhelpful men in their lives, they are arguing with each other, pulling up old wounds and half-remembered fights from their past like real siblings. Yet, when they see how the other lives and are betrayed by the men they are supposed to be able to rely on, they realize all they have ever had is each other. That will never stop them from fighting, but it helps bring them closer together and, with a little help from Maryam’s youngest son Ali (Adam Khattar) enables them to finally work together to get the money they deserve and to properly lay their father to rest. By the end, one hopes that their newly rekindled friendship can also prevent Maryam’s sons from turning into the very men who did nothing to help the women retrieve their rightful inheritance.
#ChicagoPalestineFilmFestival #Comedy #ElderCare #FemaleCharacter #FemaleCharacters #FemaleDirectors #FemaleFilmmaker #FilmFestival #FilmReview #Heist #Palestine #ShariaLaw #UnderrepresentedInFilm #WomenInFilm -
Review: Steal This Story, Please!
Year: 2025
Runtime: 98 minutes
Directors: Tia Lessin, Carl Deal
By Joan Amenn
“We will not be silent.”
-Amy Goodman, “Democracy Now!”
Where so we find journalists who speak truth to power and do not bend to corporate interests? Obviously not in the major news outlets the public previously looked to for information in this time of danger and despair. “Steal this Story, Please!” is uncomfortable and provoking in all the right ways, much like Amy Goodman who is the focus of this film.
As a journalist and the producer of “Democracy Now!” Goodman has seen some things and encountered a wide range of people from ordinary citizens to the famous (and occasionally infamous.) As this documentary shows, her heart and her reporting are firmly with those who would otherwise not be seen or heard of if not for her independent and privately funded programming.
Tia Lessin is a director best known for the excellent documentary, “The Janes” (2022) about the underground network of women who provided abortions in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Now teamed with Carl Deal (“Citizen Koch” (2013)) the duo have outdone themselves in producing the definitive documentary of our time. In “Steal This Story, Please!” we have a thrilling and chilling reminder of how and what journalism should be to the American public. The personal costs and dangers are not played down nor is Goodman set up on a pedestal, even if this reviewer personally finds her heroic.
The duo have outdone themselves in producing the definitive documentary of our time. In “Steal This Story, Please!” we have a thrilling and chilling reminder of how and what journalism should be to the American public.
Clearly, “Democracy Now!” is a platform that remains very much needed and thankfully, it can be accessed in multiple ways, including on YouTube where it has over three million subscribers. Goodman and her team are the kind of journalists that belong among the ranks of Murrow and Friendly, not to mention Woodward and Bernstein before they decided that shilling books was preferable to informing the public. Goodman makes it clear she comes from a family history of standing up to those in power and she is completely unfazed by any (typically male) crash outs her line of questioning might cause.
In short, she is a national treasure that needs protecting at all costs.
Inspiring, infuriating, and galvanizing, “Steal This Story, Please!” is a call to action at a time when there seems to be similar calls made to the public every day. How much longer our country can survive the outrageous slings and arrows that Goodman and her crew report is anyone’s guess but it’s comforting to know that they’re out there and they’re on our side.
#WomenInAction #WomeninArmedConflict #911 #Activism #AmyGoodman #CarlDeal #DemocracyNow #Documentary #FemaleDirectors #FilmReview #InvestigativeJournalism #Journalism #news #Review #TheJanes #TiaLessin #WomenInFilm -
We are ecstatic that SEBIYE BEHTIYAR (@sebiyebehtiyar) will be playing LAURIE. Sebiye starred in director Bing Liu’s (@bingliu89) PREPARATION FOR THE NEXT LIFE, ending up on many "Best of 2025" lists such as @ScreenRant Top 10 Breakout Performances and @indiewire 16 Best Breakout Performances. She was also nominated for @TheGotham Awards’ Best Breakthrough Performance.
#homesoundsfilm #aapi #womeninfilm #asiansinfilm #indiefilm #supportindiefilm #aapirenaissancerally -
Review: Palestine ’36
Year: 2026
Runtime: 1hr 59 min
Director: Annemarie Jacir
Writer: Annemarie Jacir
Actors: Hiam Abbass, Yasmine Al Massri, Karim Daoud Anaya, Robert Aramayo, Jeremy Irons, and Liam Cunningham
By Guest Reviewer Alexei Holloway
It would be hard to find a film more timely than “Palestine ‘36” (2026.) Written and directed by Annemarie Jacir, “Palestine ‘36” is a historical drama that immerses its viewers into the Palestinian perspective of the Palestinian Revolt of 1936.
The film follows the stories of three Palestinian families: Yusuf, Hanan, and Afra; Khouloud and her husband Amir, and Father Boulos, a Christian priest, and his son Kareem.
Yusuf, played by Karim Daoud Anaya, is from the fictional village of al Basma and finds himself torn between village life and city life. When Yusuf’s father is killed and his brother is arrested, Yusuf joins the rebels who live in the countryside. However, the rebel’s actions bring increased British scrutiny and raids to his village and threaten the lives of his family and neighbors.
Khouloud, played by the amazing Yasmine Al Massri, is a journalist writing under the pseudonym of Ahmad Canaanli because people will only read her articles if they believe she is a man. Khouloud is a firm believer in Palestinian autonomy and reports on the British army’s violent repressive measures and the Zionist settlers’ seemingly neverending stealing of Palestinian land. Her husband, Amir, is a landlord who believes he can retain his wealth and power if he works with the British and the Zionist settlers.
Father Boulos, played by Jalal Altawil, and Kareem are members of Yusuf’s village and the fact that they are Christian Palestinians who side with their Muslim neighbors flabbergasts the British.
The film’s greatest strength is its cast. Predictably, Jeremy Irons is the perfect face of British indifference to indigenous people’s rights and humanity and Robert Aramayo’s Orde Wingate is appropriately cruel and fanatic. Dhafer L’Abidine provides Amir, a man we should hate, with just enough charm to turn his character into a walking tragedy. The moment he realizes that he’s betrayed his people for nothing is one of the most haunting moments in a film full of haunting moments.
However, the true stars of the film are the female leads: Hiam Abbass and Yasmine Al Massri. Hiam Abbass’ Hanan is a loving mother with a spine of steel who does whatever she can to protect her family and land, even if that means helping a wounded rebel and hiding arms from the British. She is often left alone, weaponless and at the mercy of British patrols but never cowers or hesitates. She is the ultimate representation of the inner strength of every Palestinian mother, wife, and sister who has survived the worst anyone can imagine and still gets up in the morning to do it all over again.
Yasmine Al Massri’s Khouloud is, perhaps, the star of the film. She is absolutely charming, courageous, and powerful as the voice of the Palestinian people. As a member of the elite, she is often gathering secrets from British diplomat Thomas and insulting Wingate before leaving him to deal with matters of real importance. Although she knows Amir does not agree with her pro-Palestinian stance, she still loves him and never imagines he’d actually work with the Zionist settlers to sellout their own land. She is crushed by his betrayal but not broken and continues to fight for a free Palestine.
“Palestine ‘36″’s vast and complicated story combined with its two hour runtime creates choppy pacing, underdeveloped relationships, obscures the depth and brutality of the Zionist and British alliance, and prevents the full exploration of the many ideas it introduces. At the same time, what it manages to cover is both impressive and heartbreaking. While far from a perfect movie, it is an important film that tells the story of the carving up of Palestine from the Palestinian perspective; a perspective that has been overshadowed and suppressed for the last seventy years. The power of Palestinian voices is what makes this movie a must see.
#FemaleCharacters #FemaleDirectors #FemaleFilmmaker #FilmReview #History #JeremyIrons #LiamCunningham #Palestine #Review #RobertAramayo #WomenInFilm #WorldCinema
