Wednesday, October 26, 7pm – FREE to ALL
102 Textor Hall, Ithaca College, Ithaca NY
“…an intimate look at the emerging poetics and politics of Palestinian hip hop artists living in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank. It calls to mind contemporary Black Lives Matter protests of hip hop artists in the U.S. who are using music, dance, storytelling, and graffiti to draw attention to police violence, poverty, and a lack of opportunity for too many urban youth.”
– Travis Lars Gosa, author of School of Hard Knocks: Hip Hop and the Fight for Equal Education; co-editor of The Hip Hop & Obama Reader; Assistant Professor of Africana Studies at Cornell University.
[PALESTINE/U.S. (2008). 83′ min. Arabic, English & Hebrew. Subtitles in English, Spanish, French. Directed by Jackie Reem Salloum. Produced by Salloum, Rumzi Araj, and Waleed Zaiter. TRAILER. Official website: http://www.slingshothiphop.com/.
Slingshot Hip Hop braids together the stories of young Palestinians living in Gaza, the West Bank and inside Israel as they discover Hip Hop and employ it as a tool to surmount divisions imposed by occupation and poverty. From internal checkpoints and Separation Walls to gender norms and generational differences, this is the story of young people crossing the borders that separate them.
Jackie Reem Salloum is a New York based filmmaker and artist. During her MFA studies at New York University she created pop infused art (toys, gumball machines, etc) documenting histories of people, including her family, that have been altered or erased and challenging the stereotypes of Arabs. Salloum’s love for filmmaking began after creating her short video piece, “Planet of the Arabs” (2005 Sundance) which then lead her back to Palestine to direct her first feature length documentary, “Slingshot Hip Hop”, (2008 Sundance). Salloum recently directed short documentaries for Arab American Stories on PBS TV, a music video for DAM sponsored by UN Women, “If I Could Go Back in Time”, and a short kids film, “Yala to the Moon” (2012 tiff Kids). Salloum continues to write/direct films, music videos and teach workshops at universities and institutions in the US and internationally. www.jsalloum.com
Rumzi Araj, a Palestinian-American, has worked with Salloum on many of her art and film projects and was an Associate Producer on the short film Planet of the Arabs, a 2005 Sundance selection. He is currently working on producing films and working as a Lawyer in New York.
Waleed Zaiter is an Arab-American multimedia artist born in Beirut,Lebanon. Growing up in the United States, he began his career as a street artist in Boston. He currently resides in NYC where he freelances as an animator. His work can be found on-line at www.freehabib.com. He was a producer, editor and visual effects supervisor on this film.
AWARDS
“Documentary Competition” Sundance Film Festival 2008
Top 3 Finalist for the IDFA– “DOC U” Competition, Amsterdam
“Audience Award: Best Documentary“ Films de Femmes, France
“Audience Award: Best Film“ DOX BOX Film Festival, Syria
“Best Director” Beirut International Film festival, Lebanon
“Audience Award: Best Film“ Beirut International Film festival, Lebanon
“Jury Prize” Festival Cinéma et Politique de Tours, Paris, France
“Audience Award: Best Film“ Arabian Sights/Washington DC International Film Festival
“Silver Hanoman Prize” JAFF film festival, Indonesia
“Best Mediterranean Film” Granada Festival Cine del Sur, Spain
“Audience Award: Best Documentary” Cairo Refugee Film Festival, Egypt
“Audience Award: Best Film” Cairo Refugee Film Festival, Egypt
“Most Anticipated Film” Cairo Refugee Film Festival, Egypt
“Audience Award: Best Film“ Toronto Palestine Film Festival, Canada
“The Festival des Libertés Award” Festival des Libertés festival in Brussels, Belgium
“Aloha Accolade Winner” Honolulu Film Festival, Hawaii
Ithaca's Palestine Film Series 