Palestinian Films collection, 1976-2008
Summary Information
At a Glance
- Call No.:
- MS#1536
- Bib ID:
- 7811517 View CLIO record
- Creator(s):
- Dreams of a Nation (Project); Dabashi, Hamid, 1951-; Jacir, Annemarie
- Repository:
- Rare Book and Manuscript Library
- Physical Description:
- 6 linear feet (5 boxes)
- Language(s):
- English , Arabic .
- Access:
- You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.
-
The collection is not digitized, and the Rare Book and Manuscript Library is unable to provide access to original audiovisual media. If you need access to this type of material, please contact us to discuss the possibility of reproduction or reformatting. The physical media is located off-site.
Some of these films may be available via streaming services, YouTube, Vimeo, or the filmmaker's website. If you are interested in a particular film, you may try searching for the film title using an Internet search engine.
Description
Scope and Contents
The collection contains over 130 feature films, shorts, and documentaries about Palestine, or by Palestinian film makers and artists, and is based on Dreams of a Nation, a Columbia University based film project committed to the preservation and promotion of Palestinian cinema. The main curator of the Dreams of a nation project, Prof. Hamid Dabashi explains the background and history of the project and collection in the following words: "[Dreams of a Nation] began early in the 1990s with the acquisition and inclusion of Palestinian films in courses I taught at Columbia on Middle Eastern cinema. The late Edward Said and his assistant Zeyneb Asterabadi were instrumental in facilitating my initial contacts with Palestinian filmmakers, and Richard Pena was extremely helpful in helping me locate Palestinian films. These courses eventually culminated in a major Palestinian film festival we organized in January 2003 at Columbia University, and continued with taking that festival to Palestine in February 2004. The initial collection of the films screened in the course of these two festivals were subsequently expanded into a major archive of Palestinian films, which is now safely housed at Columbia University in New York City. This collection is being carefully preserved, expanded, and digitized for future use by scholars and students of Palestinian cinema. The initial team that organized these two film festival and created this website included my research assistant Fatima Ali, as well as Columbia University students Kareem Fahim, Annemarie Jacir, and Kamran Rastegar, as well as Enas Muthaffar and Luma Shihab-Eldin. Annemarie Jacir curated these two festivals. My edited volume, Dreams of a Nation: On Palestinian Cinema (Verso, 2006) was a result of this project."
The film abstracts are taken from the "Dreams of a Nation: A Palestinian Film Project" website, currently hosted by the Center for Palestine Studies and from other sources. The website also has many images of the film covers: http://palestine.mei.columbia.edu/dreams-of-a-nation
Arrangement
Using the Collection
Restrictions on Access
You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.
The collection is not digitized, and the Rare Book and Manuscript Library is unable to provide access to original audiovisual media. If you need access to this type of material, please contact us to discuss the possibility of reproduction or reformatting. The physical media is located off-site.
Some of these films may be available via streaming services, YouTube, Vimeo, or the filmmaker's website. If you are interested in a particular film, you may try searching for the film title using an Internet search engine.
Terms Governing Use and Reproduction
Reproductions may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.
Preferred Citation
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Palestinian Films Collection; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.
Accruals
Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.
About the Finding Aid / Processing Information
Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Processing Information
Collection-level record describing unprocessed material made public in summer 2018 as part of the Hidden Collections initiative.
Revision Description
2018-09-07 File created.
2019-05-20 EAD was imported spring 2019 as part of the ArchivesSpace Phase II migration.
2019-09-20 Additional description added. kws
Subject Headings
The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.
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