Ryan Family Film Series: In Vitro & The Dream
Thursday, November 7, 2024 7:00–8:00 PM
Description
In Vitro (dir. Larissa Sansour and Søren Lind, 2019, 28 min) and The Dream (dir. Mohammad Malas, 1987, 45 min)Followed by discussion with Colgate professors Daniella Doron (Jewish Studies) and Noor-Aiman Khan (Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies)In Vitro is set in the aftermath of an eco-disaster. A vast bunker under the biblical town of Bethlehem has been converted into an enormous orchard. Using heirloom seeds collected in the final days before the disaster, a group of scientists are preparing to replant the soil above. In the hospital wing of the underground compound, the orchard’s ailing founder, 70-year-old Dunia, is lying on her deathbed, as 30-year-old Alia, Dunia’s successor, comes to visit her. The talk between the two scientists soon evolves into an intimate dialogue about memory, exile and nostalgia.Shot in 1980-1981, The Dream is composed of interviews with different Palestinian refugees, including children, women, old people, and militants from refugee camps of Sabra, Shatila, Bourj el-Barajneh, Ain al-Hilweh, and Rashidieh in Lebanon. In the interviews, Mohamad Malas questions them about their dreams at night. The dreams always converge on Palestine: a woman recounts her dreams about winning the war; a fedai of bombardment and martyrdom; and one man tells of a dream where he meets and is ignored by Gulf emirs. During filming, Malas lived in the camps and conducted interviews with more than 400 people. In 1982, the Sabra and Shatila massacres occurred, taking the lives of several people he interviewed, and he stopped working on the project. He returned to it in 1986 and edited together the many hours of footage, releasing the film in 1987.This event is co-sponsored by Peace and Conflict Studies and the Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies Program.