Palestinian Animation: Forms of Resilience

90 minutes

Even - or perhaps especially - in the bleakest of times, art can empower. It's a belief deeply rooted in the heart of Haneen Muhammad Koraz, an animator and educator working with displaced children and women in Gaza, making stop-motion cartoon films together with refugees. Raising funds for Haneen's animation workshops in Gaza, this screening showcases Palestinian resilience and proves that perhaps film can change lives after all.

Want to support Haneen's animation workshops? Go to GoFundMe, donate and share.

The Wanted 18
Through a clever mix of stop-motion animation and interviews, The Wanted 18 recreates an astonishing true story from the First Palestinian Intifada from the late 1980s: the Israeli army's pursuit of 18 cows, whose independent milk production on a Palestinian collective farm was declared "a threat to the national security of the state of Israel". In response to the still ongoing Israeli occupation of the West Bank, a group of residents from the town of Beit Sahour decided to buy 18 cows and producte their own milk as a co-operative. Their venture is so succesful that the collective farm becomes a landmark, and the cows even local celebrities - until the Israeli army takes note and declares that the farm is an illegal security threat. Consequently, the dairy is forced to go underground, the cows continuing to produce their "Intifada milk" with the Israel army in relentless pursuit. Recreating the story of the hunted cows from the perspective of the Beit Sahour activist, Israeli military officials, and the infamous cows, Palestinian artist Amer Shomali and veteran Canadian director Paul Cowan create an enchanting, inspiration tribute to the ingenuity and power of grassroots activism, illustrating the old adage that violence is a failure of the imagination.

The Wanted 18 will be preceded by a screening of the short film A Day in the Tent
A chaotic day in a Palestinian refugee camp - seen through the eyes and drawings of the children who live it. Made by Haneen Muhammad Koraz and kids at a refugee camp.

"I deeply believe that every person has the right to express himself freely, and that art, making and learning cartoon films is one of the means of free expression, audio-visually, for all segments of society. I tried to change the reality, even if just a little, for the children and women in the tents. Children and women draw, color, discuss, play, learn using the photography program, photograph scenes, write stories that express their suffering and reality, draw cartoon characters, and record their voices on film" - Haneen Muhammad Koraz

Haneen Koraz is a stop-motion educator and trainer who, as an internally displaced person, lived at the refugee camp in Deir al-Balah. She is an experienced animator who has collaborated with various arts and culture associations working in Gaza. Her efforts especially focus on empowerment of women and young girls with hearing impairments. In the camp, Haneen and her team (Nour A-Jawad and Shorook Darwish) led animation workshops for women and children to help them cope with the horrors they have experienced. On August 22, 2024 people in the camp were forced to evacuate. Haneen, Nour, and Shorook, even though displaced again, continue their work.