The Nakba on Netflix: Through the Eyes of a 14-year old Palestinian Girl | Darin Sallam
Farha – the internationally acclaimed film that brought the Nakba to screens around the world – depicts the heartwrenching events of 1948 through the eyes of a 14-year old girl. In her debut film, director Darin Salam creates an intense, feminine story that captures the emotions and human experience of the Nakba in a raw yet approachable way.
Darin explains how the story of Farha found her, offers context for viewers who aren’t familiar with events around the Nakba, and breaks down the logistical elements of casting, shooting and producing the film. She talks about how she positions Farha as a meaningful contribution to a wider conversation that uses art and film as a means to preserve this history for generations to come.
Finally, Darin speaks to the fear and initial reluctance she faced from the film industry as well as the challenges she overcame to secure funding that respected the integrity of the story she was trying to make.
This episode was recorded on November 9 2023 at 11am Palestine time. Please note that we're recording special podcast episodes relevant to understanding the historical context of what is happening in Palestine. Make sure to check out the other highly informative conversations with guests from completely different disciplines who are generously sharing their time and insight in these dark times.
Darin Salam is a Jordanian film director and writer of Palestinian roots. She has five award-winning short films to her name, including Still Alive, The Dark Outside, and The Parrot. Sallam holds an MFA from the Red Sea Institute for Cinematic Arts, affiliated with the University of Southern California. Her debut narrative feature film, Farha, premiered at the 46th Toronto International Film Festival and now continues to be selected to renowned film festivals. It was selected as Jordan’s entry in the International Feature Film category at the 95th Academy Awards (Oscars) in 2023 and won the Best Youth Film awards at the 15th Asia Pacific Awards (ASPA). Sallam was the first Jordanian director to be awarded an APSA.
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Palestinian history and culture will not be erased. History warns us how media's dehumanizing rhetoric can pave the way for targeted aggression and allow society to permit atrocities as grave as genocide. It is resolutely within our mission to counteract this dehumanizing narrative. Afikra has always stood in unwavering solidarity with our Palestinian sisters & brothers and individuals of all nationalities and faiths around the world who bravely protest the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine and condemn the state violence of the Israeli colonial settler project.
After the events of October 7, 2023 it felt impossible to go on with the podcast like business as usual. So we dedicated The afikra Podcast programming to special episodes relevant to understanding the historical context to what is happening in Palestine. Each episode was recorded in real-time and uploaded to YouTube and everywhere you get your podcasts. For most of these, the time of recording is key to understanding the context in which these conversations took place so make sure to refer to these and to check out all of these highly informative conversations with guests who are from completely different disciplines and have generously shared their time and insight in these dark times.
And as we entered the new year and the atrocities continue, we deemed it necessary to create an exclusive series dedicated to Palestinian history and culture. This is how this podcast came about and will continue to exist so long as the fight for liberation and peace continues.
