Queer Palestinian Film & the Second Intifada

Drew Paul, Associate Professor of Arabic and Co-Director of Cinema Studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, presents a talk centered on two short Palestinian films—Chic Point (2003) by Sharif Waked, and Diary of a Male Whore (2001) by Tawfik Abu Wael)—as examples of a wave of queer films from or about Palestine that emerge during and after the Second Intifada (2000–2005).

The talk examines visual and narrative characteristics of these films, including violations of bodily autonomy, spatial constriction, flashback and traumatic recall, and use of shadows and darkness. It then connects these elements to broader trends in Second Intifada filmmaking to argue that queer narratives and experiences offer a compelling visual language for critiquing forms of violence and collective punishment that Israel utilized during the Second Intifada and has continued to deploy, expand, and refine in the 20 years since.

This event is sponsored by the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies, the Institute for Research on Women and Gender, the Department of Film, Television, and Media, and the Program in Arab and Muslim American Studies.