Palestinian Films collection, 1976-2008

Summary Information

At a Glance

Arrangement

• Palestinian Films collection

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.

• Palestinian Films collection

Using the Collection

Rare Book and Manuscript Library

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.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Single photocopies 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 at Columbia University through the Archival Collections Portal and through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, as well as ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.

All links open new windows.

Genre/Form

Subject