Inside the London Premiere of Vancouver-based documentary series Ana Falastini

On May 25, Palestinian-Canadian filmmakers Dalia Al Ahmad and Rawan Ramini came to Western University’s Conron Hall to premiere their Vancouver-based documentary series “Ana Falastini.” 

The event brought upwards of 100 community members together and featured surprise performances from the Asala Dabke group and the debut of the Palestinian Threads of Diaspora project in London.

The filmmaker duo showed three episodes of their five-episode documentary series, each discussing a specific part of Palestinian identity through interviews in both Arabic and English.

Part 1 — History

“To be a Palestinian is politicized.” 

The first portion of the documentary opened with members of the Palestinian diaspora in Vancouver discussing their shared experiences in Palestinian identity. Some faced targeted bullying, were called terrorists, and were scapegoated as the origins of social, economic, and political problems; others felt forced to let go of their Palestinian identity to be embraced as more Canadian, or struggled to explain their history and background.

Despite these experiences being part of a shared identity, the Palestinian story is not so simple to tell, as a researcher featured in the documentary explains:

“The Palestinian story is also difficult to tell because Palestine was an organic part of the Ottoman world. And so the Palestinian story is also, in some ways, an Ottoman story. And the Palestinian story is also an Arab story, and the Palestinian story is a Muslim story, and it is also a Christian story — Palestine was never, in its history, a completely, totally, and utterly ethnically homogeneous place.”

He then explained the origins and shifts that have taken place in Palestine, its place in the Ottoman Empire, the introduction of Christian missionaries, Islamic scholars, and others who established multiple institutions. This history, combined with the introduction of a standardized education, marriages across villages, and the diaspora-wide shared experiences of displacement from the land, creates the backbone of Palestinian identity.

The documentary episode continued with Palestinian elders recounting their experiences, or their ancestors’ experiences, of fleeing the Nakba.

“I became a refugee on the 14th of May, 1948 — all my life I have been working and trying to make plans to return home,” said one elder. “They carried out 31 military operations against us, making today 9 million refugees.”

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As the first episode of the documentary ended, small murmurs were heard throughout the audience. Canadian Palestinian Social Association of London member Dr. Nehal Al Tarhuni then surprised the audience with a performance from the Asala Dabke group. Six dancers, each with a keffiyeh around their necks, performed for around 8 minutes, to rapturous applause.

Part 2 — Food

“It brings us closer to the family we left behind.”

The second episode of the documentary series explored the stories of food in the Palestinian diaspora. It featured stories from restaurant owners and family matriarchs discussing the importance of preserving culture through Palestinian cuisine.

Sobhi and Tamam Al-Zobaidi, husband and wife owners of Tamam, discussed how they started their Vancouver restaurant and helped create a space for art and organizing in the city. “The dish that comes closest to my heart is musakhan; it’s really authentically Palestinian. It’s not Middle Eastern, it’s Palestinian,” noted Tamam, explaining that the consumption of the dish is rooted in eating communally, part of why she appreciates it so much.

The owner of Manoush’eh, another Vancouver eatery, also discussed his journey to opening his own Palestinian restaurant, and the importance of preserving Palestinian recipes. 

One mother featured in the documentary was shown making a traditional dish with her children. She celebrates that her kids take pride in their Palestinian heritage. 

“I’ve always felt like when I’m eating Palestinian food, it’s another way for me to feel connected to my land — I know this is the type of food that my body is meant to eat, that my ancestors have eaten for years,” one of her daughters mentioned.

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At another point in the evening, Palestinian community member Rasha Abu Ramadan and her Tatreez group were invited on stage with the filmmakers to debut the completion of their Threads of Diaspora project, a tapestry created through the tatreez, a centuries-old traditional Palestinian embroidery. 

“This powerful piece of collective art was born from a vision come to life through CPSA Edmonton, where Palestinian women stitched not just fabric, but identity, memory, and resistance,” said Abu Ramadan. 

The project involved more than 40 women, who collectively contributed more than 1000 hours creating squares for the finished project.

Part 3 — Art

“Am I an artist who happens to be Palestinian or a Palestinian artist?”

The last episode of the documentary series discussed how art is used among the Palestinian diaspora as a tool of resistance and celebration. It featured visual art, tatreez, rap lyricism, and the traditional Levantine instrument, the oud.

“I think as artists, it’s kind of like our responsibility to respect but also evolve and hold things so that they continue to carry forward into our future without being forgotten and passed and seen as something just in the past.”

The artists featured collectively explored how they were able to connect with their Palestinian identity through art, and how they believed in using their art to show the beauty of Palestine.

“The role of the artist is to preserve the identity, to preserve the culture, preserve the spirit, and I think, preserve the spirit of, in our case, that resilience, hope, a belief, and a better future.”

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During the Q&A period, the filmmaking duo shared their reasons for making the film and the struggles that underscored it. Rawan noted the film was a way to explore what it means to be Palestinian, and how Palestinians use their time, energy, and talent to serve the Palestinian cause. 

“As Palestinians, we don’t only work for a free Palestine. We work for a free world. We, as Palestinians, believe that we are not free until everybody is free.” She expanded on a more personal note, the importance of the film to her as a Palestinian mother. “Part of why I made it is for my kids when they grow up — they can have something to go back to and understand that their identity goes way beyond the occupation.” 

For Dalia, the film was a way to redefine what it means to be Palestinian. “I always found in the media, when you see or hear about Palestinians, it’s always rubble, destruction, or some version of a terrorist or a freedom fighter. But I know, as a Palestinian, that we are so much more than that.”

Their steadfast connection to Palestinian identity, shared dedication, and perseverance brought the documentary series to life, but it wasn’t without struggle. 

“The thing about telling the truth, your oppressor is always going to try and mute you and silence your story,” Rawan noted.

In April of 2023, Dalia had found a Vancouver-based grant that was seeking to create community stories. She applied with Rawan to make a community series about the Palestinian diaspora in Vancouver, and was awarded the grant in July of 2023, before beginning production in September.

“So when the genocide started, we were taken into a world and a journey we did not expect. We were not expecting to be documenting the largest rallies and protests in our city that have ever been seen.”

They asked the grant funder to confirm with their manager that they could proceed with the project with footage of protests. That manager encouraged them not to worry and just tell the story they needed to tell.

However, in July of 2024, two weeks before the final deadline for the project, they had received a message from a different manager who had seen drafts of the series and was concerned that their series was “problematic and unbalanced.” They suggested they interview someone with a different perspective to create “balance.”

This brought sounds of shock from the audience, and Dalia responded with questions. “Would they have asked that question of anybody else, other than us, because we’re Palestinians? You would never ask an Indigenous person, if they’re talking about residential schools, to include the priests from the residential school to create balance in their story. Why is it that we have to include our oppressor?”

At their refusal, they were put into a bigger meeting with more managers, who threatened to demand the grant money back unless they complied with a list of changes.

Among the list of changes, they were not to use the words: Palestine, occupation, or checkpoints. They were also not to use the Palestinian flag or tell any stories of Palestine being occupied. 

At the end of the long list, Dalia said the funders told them “[We] know this is a hard pill to swallow, but everyone has their version of the truth.”

The duo remained steadfast and refused. Finally, after several months, the funders allowed them to keep the money they had been awarded, but refused to distribute the series. The filmmakers have since worked with a variety of grassroots organizations across North America to debut their work and have travelled to over 10 cities.

“A lot of young people in the diaspora — we don’t get access to Palestine in the way other people from other places do. That’s what it’s all about, that people feel connected, feel a sense of hope,” said Dalia.