That's a wrap! Thank you to the 403 registrants from 18 countries who joined us for this year's film fest!
Join World BEYOND War for our 4th annual virtual film festival!
Marking International Women’s Day (March 8), this year’s “Women & War” virtual film festival from March 9-23, 2024 explores the intersection of women, war, and militarized masculinity. Each week, we’ll host a live Zoom discussion with key representatives from the films and special guests to answer your questions and explore the topics addressed in the films. Scroll down to learn more about each film and our special guests, and to purchase tickets!
How It Works:
- 1 ticket gets you access to all 3 films and 3 Zoom discussions.
- You will get the screening link to watch the films on your own time leading up to the Zoom discussions.
- Then join us live on Zoom each Saturday in March from the 9th-23rd to talk with key representatives from the films and special guests! The panel discussions will also be recorded if you can't join us live.
World BEYOND War understands that our paid festival pass may not be possible for everyone at this time and we are thrilled to be offering one of the films in our festival for free this year. Register here to view Naila and the Uprising, Just Vision’s 2017 film, at no cost. To access our full lineup of films in our festival and the 3 panel discussions, please register below for the main festival pass. Please note that when you register for the main festival pass, Naila and the Uprising will also be included. // World BEYOND War comprende que nuestro pase al festival de forma paga puede no ser posible para todos en este momento y estamos encantados de ofrecer una de las películas de nuestro festival de forma gratuita este año, tanto en español como en inglés. Regístrate aquí para ver Naila y el Levantamiento, así como la película de Just Vision de 2017, sin costo en español e inglés.
Day 1: Discussion of "Israelism" on Saturday, March 9 at 3:00pm-4:00pm Eastern Standard Time (GMT-5)
Two young American Jews – Simone Zimmerman and Eitan – are raised to defend the state of Israel at all costs. Eitan joins the Israeli military. Simone supports Israel on ‘the other battlefield:’ America’s college campuses. When they witness Israel’s mistreatment of the Palestinian people with their own eyes, they are horrified and heartbroken.
They join the movement of young American Jews battling the old guard over Israel’s centrality in American Judaism, and demanding freedom for the Palestinian people. Their stories reveal a generational divide in the American Jewish community as more young Jews question the narratives their synagogues and Hebrew school teachers fed them as children.
The film also features voices like Jacqui, a Jewish educator who says “Judaism is Israel and Israel is Judaism”, and former Anti-Defamation League President Abe Foxman, who claims voices like Simone and Eitan’s represent a small minority. Thought leaders like Peter Beinart, Jeremy Ben-Ami, Noura Erakat, Cornel West, and Noam Chomsky also weigh in.
Directed by two first-time Jewish filmmakers who share a similar story to the film’s protagonists, Israelism (2023) is produced by Peabody-winner and 4-time Emmy-nominee Daniel J. Chalfen (Loudmouth, Boycott), executive produced by two-time Emmy-winner Brian A. Kates (Marvelous Ms. Maisel, Succession) and edited by Emmy-winner Tony Hale (The Story of Plastic), Israelism uniquely explores how Jewish attitudes towards Israel are changing dramatically, with massive consequences for the region and for Judaism itself.
Watch the trailer:
Panelists:
Simone Zimmerman
Co-Founder of IfNotNow Movement
Simone Zimmerman is an organizer and strategist based in Brooklyn, New York. Her personal journey is currently featured in the film Israelism, about a younger generation of American Jews who have been transformed by witnessing the reality in the West Bank and connecting with Palestinians. Zimmerman is a co-founder of IfNotNow, a grassroots movement of U.S. Jews working to end the American Jewish community's support for Israel's apartheid system. She is currently the Communications director for the Diaspora Alliance, an international organization dedicated to fighting antisemitism and its misuse. She is a board member of Jews for Racial and Economic Justice Action, on the Advisory Board of Jewish Currents Magazine, and is an emerging thought leader on the American Jewish left.
Sahar Vardi
Sahar Vardi is an anti-militarism and anti-occupation activist from Jerusalem. She is a conscientious objector, and has been part of the Israeli refusal movement for over a decade. In recent years she led the Israel program for the American Friends Service Committee, where she helped establish the Database on Israeli Military and Security Export, and developed research and campaigns against Israeli arms exports and the human rights violations associated with that industry.
Deb Cowen
Founding Member, Jewish Faculty Network
Deb Cowen is a Professor in the Department of Geography and Planning at the University of Toronto. She is a founding member and on the steering committee of the Jewish Faculty Network. Deb’s work is concerned with the intimate life of war in ostensibly civilian spaces, the logistics of supply chain and racial capitalism, and the contested geographies of settler colonial infrastructure. The author of The Deadly Life of Logistics: Mapping Violence in Global Trade and Military Workfare: The Soldier and Social Citizenship in Canada, Deb also co-edited War, Citizenship, Territory and Digital Life in the Global City: Contesting Infrastructures, and with Katherine McKittrick and Simone Browne co-edits the Duke University Press book series Errantries.
Rachel Small (moderator)
Canada Organizer, World BEYOND War
Rachel Small is the Canada Organizer for World BEYOND War. Based in Toronto, Canada, on Dish with One Spoon and Treaty 13 Indigenous territory, Rachel is a community organizer who has organized within local and international social/environmental justice movements for over a decade. She is a founding member of the Jews Say No to Genocide Coalition, which has mobilized thousands of Jews to take action against Israeli state violence and Canadian complicity in it since October 2023.
Day 2: Discussion of "Naila and The Uprising" on Saturday, March 16 at 3:00pm-4:00pm Eastern Daylight Time (GMT-4)
When a nationwide uprising breaks out in 1987, a woman in Gaza must choose between love, family, and freedom. Undaunted, she embraces all three, joining a clandestine network of women in an inspiring story that weaves through the most vibrant, nonviolent mobilization in Palestinian history – the First Intifada.
Watch the trailer:
World BEYOND War understands that our paid festival pass may not be possible for everyone at this time and we are thrilled to be offering one of the films in our festival for free this year. Register here to view Naila and the Uprising, Just Vision’s 2017 film, at no cost. To access our full lineup of films in our festival and the 3 panel discussions, please register below. Please note that when you register for the main festival pass, Naila and the Uprising will also be included.
Panelists:
Rula Salameh
Education and Outreach Director in Palestine, Just Vision
Rula Salameh is a veteran journalist, community organizer and the Education and Outreach Director in Palestine for Just Vision, an organization that fills a media gap on Israel-Palestine through independent storytelling and strategic audience engagement. She produced three of Just Vision's films - Budrus (2009), My Neighbourhood (2012) and Naila and the Uprising (2017) - and has led the team's public engagement efforts across Palestinian society for over 13 years. Since 2019, she has contributed a weekly column to Ma'an News covering Palestinian social issues from the perspective of grassroots communities. In addition to her work with Just Vision, Rula is the host of Falasteen al-Khair ("Philanthropy in Palestine"), one of the most popular TV shows in Palestine. Rula was one of the founders of the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation in 1993 following the Oslo Accords. She has served as the Middle East Liaison for the organization Peace X Peace, as the Project Coordinator for Middle East Nonviolence and Democracy (MEND) and established a computer lab and children's library in the Aida Refugee Camp in Bethlehem through her work with Refugee Trust International. She has lead and spoken at hundreds of events across the Occupied Palestinian Territories, as well as the US, UK and internationally, sharing her experiences as a community organizer, documentary producer and Jerusalem resident with thousands of audiences including women, youth, faith leaders, refugees, political leaders, journalists and beyond. Rula has a BA in Sociology from Birzeit University in Ramallah and holds an international diploma in Computers in Business and Management from Cambridge International College. She is a member of the International Federation of Journalists and sits on the Board of Palestinian Friends Without Borders.
Jordana Rubenstein-Edberg (moderator)
Public Engagement Associate, Just Vision
Jordana is the Public Engagement Associate for Just Vision, an organization that fills a media gap in Israel-Palestine through independent storytelling and strategic audience engagement. In her role, she works collaboratively across the organization to support outreach, communications, and storytelling efforts. Jordana holds a double degree in Human Rights Journalism and Theater from Bard College, where she co-organized an arts education program in the West Bank for four years. She also holds an MFA Social Practice degree from the Corcoran School of Art in DC, a unique program that combines art and public policy. Jordana is a filmmaker and visual artist. Prior to Just Vision, she was a recipient of the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship where she studied visual storytelling practices in Central and South America. She also worked at a number of non-profit, gallery, and film organizations including the National Geographic Society (DC), Monument Lab (PA), Steps to End Family Violence (NYC), Artists Striving to End Poverty (NYC), and the Nashman Center for Civic Engagement (DC). Her films and visual artwork have been showcased at Transformer Gallery (DC), Art Basel (Miami), and the Corcoran Gallery (DC).
David Swanson (facilitator)
Co-Founder & Executive Director, World BEYOND War
David Swanson is Co-Founder, Executive Director, and a Board Member of World BEYOND War. David is an author, activist, journalist, and radio host. He is campaign coordinator for RootsAction.org. Swanson’s books include War Is A Lie. He blogs at DavidSwanson.org and WarIsACrime.org. He hosts Talk World Radio. He is a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, and was awarded the 2018 Peace Prize by the U.S. Peace Memorial Foundation.
Day 3: Discussion of "Power on Patrol" on Saturday, March 23 at 3:00pm-4:00pm Eastern Daylight Time (GMT-4)
As news reports remind us on a daily basis, violence, and war are having a devastating effect on countries, communities, and individuals across the world. An hour-long documentary Power on Patrol (2022) from the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) sheds light on the concept of militarised masculinities as a key driver of this conflict and aggression, the ways it manifests itself in conflict societies, how it is sustained and spotlights the stories of the male allies doing vital work alongside female activists to achieve equitable peace.
Panelists:
Oswaldo Montoya
Networks Associate, MenEngage Alliance
Oswaldo Montoya is a social justice educator. His childhood in Nicaragua unfolded amidst the violent events of Somoza's dictatorship, the Sandinista revolution, and the subsequent U.S.-imposed war against the government of the 1980s. In the early 1990s, he co-founded the Nicaraguan Men's Association Against Violence. Montoya is the author of the influential book "Nadando Contra Corriente" or "Swimming Against the Current," which explores men's roles in promoting gender equality within intimate relationships. His dedication to this cause led him to serve as the first Global Coordinator of the MenEngage Alliance. Currently, Montoya plays a pivotal role in MenEngage's initiatives for men's accountability to women's rights movements. Simultaneously, he supports nonviolent activists challenging authoritarianism in the Global Majority (or Global South).
Reem Abbas
Communications Coordinator for Mobilising Men for Feminist Peace, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
Reem Abbas is the Communications Coordinator for the Mobilising Men for Feminist Peace Programme at the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. She is also a feminist activist from Sudan.
Hareer Hashim
Programme Manager, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) Afghanistan section
Hareer Hashim is a young Afghan advocate who works as Programme Manager for the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) Afghanistan section. Hareer’s work includes coordinating WILPF’s Countering Militarised Masculinities: Mobilising Men for Feminist Peace project in Afghanistan, which is building alliances between women peace builders and men who work for gender equality. Hareer graduated with honours from the American University in Dubai (AUD) majoring in international relations with a certificate in Middle Eastern studies. Hareer has also supported organisational development in Noor Education and Capacity Development Organization (NECDO) and Afghan Women for Peace and Freedom Organization (AWPFO).
Guy Feugap (moderator)
Africa Organizer, World BEYOND War
Guy Feugap is Africa Organizer for World BEYOND War. He is a secondary school teacher, writer, and peace activist, based in Cameroon. He has long worked to educate youths for peace and non-violence. His work has put young girls in particular at the heart of crisis resolution and awareness raising on several issues in their communities. He joined WILPF (Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom) in 2014 and founded the Cameroon Chapter of World BEYOND War in 2020.
Get Tickets:
**Ticket sales are now closed.**
Tickets are priced on a sliding scale; please choose whatever works best for you. All prices are in USD.
