Inland Northwest Coalition for the Liberation of Palestine to host film festival at Magic Lantern
Beginning in February, the Inland Northwest Coalition for the Liberation of Palestine will be hosting its next film festival “The Endless Nakba: A Palestine Film Series,” in downtown Spokane.
The festival starts at 4 p.m. Sunday at the Magic Lantern Theater, 25 W. Main Ave. The festival continues with one film every month ending May 18. Admission will be free for all films.
The first film, “No Other Land,” documents Palestinian resistance to village destruction in Masafer Yatta. On March 16, the next movie, “The First 54 Years” uses IDF soldier testimonies to examine the occupation of Palestinian territories.
The series continues April 13 with Al Jazeera’s “The Night Won’t End: Biden’s War on Gaza,” which follows first responders and journalists in Gaza while chronicling the death of 6-year-old Hind Rajab. The final screening on May 18 features “Atrocity, Inc: How Israel Sells its Destruction of Gaza,” which investigates media coverage and narratives surrounding the aftermath of Oct. 7.
After the final film, the editor and co-producer of “Atrocity Inc.,” Ahmad Hussam, will be available to answer questions from the audience. There will be discussions and a Q&A after the other films.
Renee Potter, a member of the INWCLP, said around 500 people attended last year’s film festival and she expects a larger turnout this year.
She said selecting the films was challenging because there has been a growing number of films centered around Palestinian struggles.
“There are many excellent films on all of these topics and more from which to choose,” Potter said. “It was quite a job for our coalition’s film committee to narrow the selection down to four particularly powerful documentaries.”
The festival was funded in part from Better Health Together and the Smith-Barbieri Progressive Fund, as well as other donations.
“We believe these emotionally moving, hard-hitting films will serve to refocus public attention on what has arguably become the most urgent and morally galvanizing question of our time – do we allow ourselves to be drafted into complicity by our silence, or unite in opposition to this ‘Endless Nakba?’ ” Potter said.
The first film festival, “Experience Palestine” was held in early 2024.
This story was written in partnership with FāVS News, a nonprofit newsroom covering faith and values in the Inland Northwest.