TMR World Picks are selected by our editors. We welcome your suggestions: editors@themarkaz.org
TMR
Stand With Sudan: Messages from the People
August 2, Rich Mix, London —more info
White Kite Collective presents a fundraising evening of music, monologues, comedy, poetry, and reflection in support of Sudan and the Sudanese people. The fundraiser, in collaboration with Madaniya and London For Sudan, benefits the Sudan Benefit Fund.
The war in Sudan has caused political instability, a severe humanitarian crisis, and widespread human rights violations. It is estimated that between 15,000 to 150,000 fatalities have occurred, and over nine million people have been forcibly displaced, with around 18 million people experiencing acute food insecurity and five million facing starvation.
Inaugural Free Palestine International Film Festival
August 2—4, Genesis Cinema, London —more info
Free Palestine International Film Festival highlights extraordinary Palestinian stories through the filmmakers’ distinctive points of view and new ways of telling the story of Palestine. The opening night film is Where Olive Trees Weep, a documentary that follows Palestinian journalist and therapist Ashira Darwish, Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi, and Dr. Gabor Maté, who offers trauma-healing work for a group of Palestinian women tortured in Israeli prisons. A discussion with some of those in the documentary will follow the screening.
Art, Activism, and Censorship: Navigating Art Spaces for an Indigenous Artist
August 4, Online Webinar —more info
Organized by the Artists Consortium, this webinar is moderated by Yusuf Abudi, and Ahmed Hmeedat. They will be hosting artist Yaqeen Yamani, a Palestinian artist from Jericho, who specializes in Media Studies & Film as well as photography. She focuses her themes of identity, rage, and grief through material experimentation to explore resistance, intervention, disruption, and reclamation. Appearing alongside Yamani will be Native American artist Danielle SeeWalker, whose recent painting, “G is for Genocide,” in support of Palestine has erupted in serious discussion in Vail, Colorado, which later called for the artist’s residency to be canceled.
Poems & A Movie: Sometimes I Dream in Farsi
August 8, Philadelphia, US —more info
Sometimes I Dream in Farsi examines a traumatic racist incident in Pirooz Kalayeh’s childhood and the role that therapy and discussion offer as a path forward for children and adults who have endured similar encounters. Porochista Khakpour (author of Tehrangeles, 2024), Alina Pleskova (author of Toska, 2023), and Violet Gehringer (author of I Love You It, Looks Like Rain, 2017) will also offer intimate readings connecting a wide range of shared experiences. Co-presented by Be About It Press with Cannonball and Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture, the event weaves personal and political intersections into an exploration of identity, expression, and cultural bonds.
Alam/The Flag: Free Outdoor Screening and Souq
August 9, Christie Pits Park, Toronto —more info
Launching the 17th Toronto Palestine Film Festival, this program promises to be a blast: alongside a full day of Palestinian music and food, there will be a live free screening of The Flag, directed by Firas Khoury at sunset.
Summer Concert featuring Hello Psychaleppo and Alsarah & The Nubatones
August 10, One Art Community Center, Philadelphia —more info
Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture’s summer concert kicks off with Alsarah & The Nubatones, performing energetic, original music influenced by traditional sounds of central Sudan. Alsarah is a Sudanese born singer, songwriter, bandleader and ethnomusicologist. Also performing is Arab bass dropper Hello Psychaleppo, who will be performing a live set on the heels of releasing his new album “Cipher.”
Screening: Freedom to Run and Filmmaker Q&A
August 10, Nottingham, UK —more info
Freedom to Run is a feature-length documentary that follows a Palestinian running group and a team from Glasgow as they train for and run the Palestine and Edinburgh marathons. The Scottish runners learn about the challenges of running in Palestine and discover their shared humanity despite their differences.
Screening of HOLLYWOODGATE
August 12, On Front Line, London—more info
When the United States withdrew from Afghanistan, the Taliban seized control and found a cache of American weaponry, worth over $7 billion. Director Ibrahim Nash’at’s HOLLYWOODGATE follows the Taliban’s transformation from a militia to a heavily armed military regime over a year.
Read the TMR review by Iason Athanasiadis here.
Shaped by the Algorithm
August 14, on Zoom —more info
This year the theme for Afikra’s Global Youth summit, Shaped by the Algorithm, will feature four consecutive panel discussions on the future of Journalism (Micha Tobia & Nour Malas), Pop Music (Anthony Semaan & Danny Hajjar), Startups & Economics (Anwar Aridi & Sarah Al Saleh), and Politics (Hafsa Halawa & Laila Mokhiber) in the Arab world.
Voices of Resilience
August 18, EFI Spiegeltent, Edinburgh —more info
Voices of Resilience is an evening of testimonies centred on Atef Abu Saif’s haunting first-hand account, Don’t Look Left: A Diary of Genocide. Organized by the Edinburgh International Book Festival, it will be performed by the actor Mo’min Swaitat. These accounts will be embroidered with poetry readings by Ahmed Nehad, Nada Shawa, Noor Hemani, and Basma Ghalayini, and accompanied by traditional oud music by Ahmed Adnan and a visual score from Gaza filmmaker Hossam Abo Shammallah. The event will be followed by a Q&A featuring members of the VoR collective and local activists including Willie Black, poet Iyad Hayatleh and author Jessica Gaitán Johannesson.
Mizna publishes special Cinema issue
Available to order here, this new issue of Mizna is guest edited by Saeed Taji-Farouky, a TMR writer. Mizna: The Cinema Issue explores the relationship between moving image–making and writing through the formal and conceptual framework of fragmentation. Farouky is a Palestinian filmmaker, educator, and curator based in London. The issue is Mizna’s most formally experimental publication to date.
Contributors include Andrea Abi-Karam, Emily Ahmed, Nadira Amrani, Sophia Attigui, Aida Bardissi, Banah El Ghadbanah, Lara El Gibaly, Christiane Gruber, Jamie Lee Haddad, Roann Hassani McCloskey, Søren Lind, Raed Rafei, Yasmine Roukiaya, Reman Sadani, Larissa Sansour, Andrea Shaker, Jen Siraganian, Eman Quotah, and Lori Yeghiayan Friedman. Additionally, guest editor Saeed Taji Farouky conducts interviews with Kamal Aljafari, Roann Hassani McCloskey, and Nadira Amrani. The cover image, a behind-the-scenes shot of Larissa Sansour and Søren Lind’s film, was photographed by Lenka Rayn H.
