NYU will host “Miral: A Palestinian/Israeli Dialogue On and Off Screen,” a film screening and panel discussion featuring the author of Miral, Rula Jebreal, on Thursday, Feb. 2.
The event is sponsored by NYU’s Center for Dialogues, in cooperation with the NYU Center for Media, Culture and History, the NYU Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies, the Department of Cinema Studies at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, and the Department of Media, Culture, and Communication at NYU’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development.
Jebreal’s semi-autobiographical novel, Miral, tells the story of a young Palestinian girl coming of age amid the tensions and destruction of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Refusing to merely point fingers, the novel draws attention to the aspirations for peace shared by both Israelis and Palestinians and appeals for a return to constructive dialogue. With the diplomatic relationship between Israelis and Palestinians once again at an impasse domestically as well as globally, Jebreal’s call for both sides to rise above the political cynicism and stalemate that have characterized the conflict over the past decade has more resonance than ever before.
The film adaptation of Miral was directed by Julian Schnabel who also directed “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”, and stars Freida Pinto, Hiam Abbass, and Willem Dafoe. “Miral,” which premiered in the United States at the United Nations General Assembly in March 2011, won the Cinema for UNICEF Commendation Award and the C.I.C.T. UNESCO Enrico Fulchignoni Award at the Venice International Film Festival in 2010.
Additional participants in the conversation following the film screening will include: Zachary Lockman, professor of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies and history at NYU and Helga Tawil-Souri, associate professor of media, culture and communication at NYU. Mustapha Tlili, founder and director of the NYU Center for Dialogues, will moderate the discussion.
The event is free and open to the public. To RSVP (deadline: Jan. 31), call 212.998.8693 or e-mail info@centerfordialogues.org. Subway Lines: 6 (Astor Place), N, R (8th St.). Reporters interested in attending must RSVP to James Devitt, NYU’s deputy director for media relations, at 212.998.6808 or james.devitt@nyu.edu.
Editor’s Note:
New York University’s Center for Dialogues: Islamic World-U.S.-The West emerged from the tragedy of September 11th, which highlighted the need for greater communication among and about the United States, Europe, and the Muslim world. The Center was founded as a forum for constructive debate among the various religious, intellectual, economic, and political sectors of American, European, and Islamic societies. It brings contentious issues between the Islamic world and the West into a more rational plane and promotes this approach to a wide audience, including the important constituencies of policy and decision-makers, policy analysts, the media, and educational institutions. For more, go to www.centerfordialogues.org.