New afikra logo, membership program & more resources on Palestinian history and culture: Days like these solidify the need for our very own platforms, to tell our stories and magnify our voices.
People who die for the freedom of others are, like women who die in childbirth, difficult to explain except to those for whom they died. Our children have drunk all our suffering as they sat on our laps hugging three thousand years of history. They will understand.
Noticed anything different about our header? A new chapter of afikra awaits as we step into our 10th year, and we're marking it with two exciting launches. Yup! The first is a new logo! (do you love it as much as we do?) It was designed by one of our favorite Arabic type designers and typographers, Pascal Zoghbi, the founder of 29letters.
The second launch is of the afikra membership: an important program to enable our community to further contribute to our vision of reframing the Arab world. If you've been enjoying this new format of our monthly newsletter, sign up to become a member now and you will continue receiving it in your mailbox.
Click on our December mixtape to listen to some songs written over the years as a tribute to Palestine and the resistance. Scroll down to find some interesting events around the world and useful online resources. We've selected some films and curated Palestine content for you to watch over the winter break.
Wishing our community and Palestine a peaceful and promising note to end the year on.
Always in solidarity, The afikra | عفكرة Team
Click on the tape to listen to Palestinian tribute and resistance songs.
An exploration of community-rooted music and stories that bring together 14 NY-based SWANA musicians, storytellers, remix artists and DJs. This event showcases the results of a 3-month collaborative residency — a 3-hour live multimedia and interdisciplinary experience that brings together Palestinian, Syrian, Lebanese and Iraqi culture
An afternoon of Palestinian short films in London organized by the the Bethlehem Cultural Festival and the Arab Film Club. At the Garden Cinema in London
afikra's founder, Mikey, will be moderating talks across the whole Sole DXB weekend, a festival dedicated to lifestyle and street culture, packed with live performances, DJ sets, sports, talks and workshops in Dubai's Design District. The line-up includes Jadakiss, Soulja, Omar Offendum, ODDISEE, Ma-Beyn and more
A film screening that illuminates Palestine's stories, struggles and triumphs organized by San Francisco's Arab Cultural Center and The Arab Film and Media Institute
Open for application: the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture, the Prince Claus Fund and the Magnum Foundation's Arab Documentary Photography Program (ADPP) support creative documentary photographers in the Arab region
An interactive list of companies that are complicit in the Israeli occupation with detailed information about the extent of their involvement
Another resource from Visualizing Palestine that lets you explore historic maps of Palestine and spatial data around how the land that has been changed by the Israeli occupation
Friendly Nerds
Reem is at the heart of our media team. When she’s not stitching together reels, she’s serenading afikra's Beirut office with her infectious laugh and good vibes, like the true Swiftie that she is.
A book you're reading A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas. It's part of a book series that I like.
Favorite musician of all time
Taylor Swift. I just love her songwriting style and how she makes me experience every emotion I’ve felt in my life.
Most rewatched film
The Dictator is a timeless movie. I always watch it when I’m feeling sad and need something to cheer me up.
Favorite afikra podcast episode
Fadi Abou Karam’s was my favorite to work on. I learned a lot of interesting things about dialect and language.
Favorite Arabic song
Jouwana by Bu Kolthoum is a song that reminds me of hard times that also changed the way I perceive life.
Special Podcast
Reframing Narratives: Palestine
Since the events of October 7, we've recorded special podcast episodes relevant to understanding the historical context of what is happening in Palestine. Make sure to check out these highly informative conversations with guests from completely different disciplines who are generously sharing their time and insight in these dark times.
Khaled Hourani was born in Hebron in 1965. He has led vital work to keep Palestine’s cultural life active. He co-founded the International Academy of Art Palestine and spearheaded the 2011 project “Picasso in Palestine” which brought an original Picasso painting to the West Bank for the first time, borrowing the Buste de Femme from the Van Abbenmuseum in Eindhoven – a bureaucratic process that took two years. His own artwork addresses the occupation head-on: exemplified in his Leaping over the Barrier series.
Films We Love
Tale of Three Jewels (1995)
A lyrical and moving work by Michel Khleifi shot in early 1994, and the first film to be shot entirely in the Gaza Strip. The story follows Yussef: a young boy whose father is in prison and brother is a fugitive from the Israeli army. Often escaping from the refugee camp to the countryside, Yussef meets Aida, a young gypsy girl who poses a daunting challenge (via Palestine Film Institute).
Trumpets in the Sky (2021)
Boushra, one of the Syrian potato-picking girls in Lebanon, returns from a long day in the field only to learn that today—her childhood will come to an end. Without dialogue, this film by Rakan Mayasi is a poetic visual contemplation on landscapes and the complexity of human traditions. Part-fiction, part-documentary, and purposely blurring the distinction, the bleakness of the narrative explores a dark socio-political critique of patriarchy, the repercussions of war, and the myth of sacrifice (via Toronto Palestine Film Festival).
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