Annemarie Jacir is a legend in Palestinian cinema. From acclaimed works like Salt of the Sea, Wajib, and more, her latest work, Palestine 36, is an epic tale of resistance that reverberates strongly today. Starring Hiam Abbass, Yasmine Al Massri, Saleh Bakri, Jeremy Irons, Robert Aramayo, Liam Cunningham, Karim Daoud Anaya, and others, it comes out in US theaters this weekend, and we were ecstatic to have Annemarie on the podcast to discuss the film, her career, the increasing consciousness of Palestine in the US, and much more.

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Our music is composed by Ashley Hefnawy. You can find more of her music here.

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We're live once again at Awesome Con in Washington D.C.! Joined by our friends Zaina, Dary, and Ali, this year we're discussing SWANA representation in Fantasy and Sci-Fi, the barriers we continue to face, why this may be more of a narrative problem than a representation problem, and how the bad representation on screen is informed by and reflective of real world interests. Stay tuned for Q&A!

Donate to Anera, UNRWA, and The Sameer Project

Decolonize Palestine

Donate to help Sudan

Support the Palestinian American Medical Association (PAMA) and families in Gaza

Islamic Relief USA: Support Families in Palestine

Our music is composed by Ashley Hefnawy. You can find more of her music here.

We are a proud member of the Hard NOC podcast family.

Follow us on BlueSky @MaeAbdu, @spiderswarz

Subscribe to The Middle Geeks on Hard NOC Media

Please support us on Patreon!

Happy(ish?) New Year! We're back with a discussion on the 2025 Oscar Nominations and the groundbreaking Palestinian, Iranian, and Moroccan films that were nominated. The Palestinian and Tunisian The Voice of Hind Rajab, the Iranian and French It Was Just an Accident, and the Moroccan and Spanish Sirat each received a nomination for Best International Feature, while writer-director of It Was Just an Accident Jafar Panahi received a nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Covering genocide, oppression, and so much more, so much of SWANA set filmmaking is tragic, but the filmmakers always make powerful art to memorialize and honor our various struggles. Congratulations to all the filmmakers. We also have an exciting update about our panel return to this year's Awesome Con, March 13-15, in DC!

Swara's review of The Voice of Hind Rajab for But Why Tho?

Donate to Anera, UNRWA, and The Sameer Project

Decolonize Palestine

Donate to help Sudan

Support the Palestinian American Medical Association (PAMA) and families in Gaza

Islamic Relief USA: Support Families in Palestine

Our music is composed by Ashley Hefnawy. You can find more of her music here.

We are a proud member of the Hard NOC podcast family.

Follow us on BlueSky @MaeAbdu, @spiderswarz

Subscribe to The Middle Geeks on Hard NOC Media

Please support us on Patreon!