The DC Palestinian Film and Arts Festival (DCPFAF) is a non-profit, volunteer-run annual film festival established in 2011 that showcases the work of Palestinian filmmakers and artists in Palestine and in diaspora, showcasing the range and complexity of Palestinian identities and narratives. The DCPFAF aims to bring together Washington, DC's various communities through art, catalyzing conversations about film, culture, and diaspora, utilizing the lens of Palestinian filmmakers as an entry point.
In 2011, a group of three dedicated young women founded the DCPFAF to create a platform for the artistic creativity of Palestinians, primarily through film but also through visual art, music, and other mediums. The stories shared in the DCPFAF are not necessarily about Palestine in relation to Israeli occupation and apartheid, nor are they stories necessarily about Palestinians. The aim of the DCPFAF is to reflect the dynamic formation of a transnational identity common to Palestinians and diasporic communities in general.
The DCPFAF launched in September 2011 after a successful two-day teaser festival that May. The DCPFAF, an entirely volunteer-run project, is incorporated in the District of Columbia as a non-governmental organization and a registered 501(c)3 entity.
The Wanted 18, by Amer Shomali and Paul Cowan
My Love Awaits Me by the Sea, by Mais Darwazah
Giraffada, by Rani Massalha
Hamule, by Mauricio Misle
Roshmia, by Salim Abu Jabal
Pioneer High, by Suha Araj
Nun wa Zaytun, by Emtiaz Diab
The Living of the Pigeons, by Baha' AbuShanab
Villa Touma, by Suha Arraf
Mars at Sunrise, by Jessica Habie
The Book of Disappearance: Arabic Literary Program with Ibtisam Azem
Layering Identities: From Architectural Heritage to Writing with Suad Amiry
Musical performance by Rahim AlHaj and the Wanees Zarour Ensemble
Photojournalism in Gaza with Eman Mohammed
Condom Lead, Tarzan and Arab
Gaza 36mm, by Khalil Al Mozayen
A World Not Ours, by Mahdi Fleifel
Cinema Palestine, by Tim Schwab and Majdi El-Omari
Where Should the Birds Fly, by Fida Qishta
Omar, by Hany Abu-Assad
May in the Summer, by Cherien Dabis
Horizon, by Zain Duraie
Yalla to the Moon, by Jacqueline Reem Salloum and Suhell Nafar
Leaving Oslo, by Yazan Khalili
From Ramallah, by Assem Nasser
Message to Obama, by Muhannad Salahat
Journey of a Sofa, by Alaa Al Ali
Apartment 10/14, by Tarzan and Arab
Interference, by Amin Nayfeh
Oslo Syndrome, by Ayman Azraq
Twenty Handshakes for Peace, by Mahdi Fleifel
Long War, by Asma Ghanem
The Huda Asfour Quartet
Lena Seikaly and Trio
Stories for Justice, Visualizing Palestine exhibit
When I Saw You, by Annemarie Jacir
Where Should the Birds Fly? by Fida Qishta
When Monaliza Smiled, by Fadi Haddad
Infiltrators, by Khaled Jarrar
Lyrics Revolt with Shannon Farhoud, Ahlene Ramadan, Melanie Fridgant, Rana Khaled Al Khatib
The Last Friday
Man Without a Cell Phone
Nukayba
Gaza: Tunnels to Nowhere
Uncle Nashaat
Palestinian Innovators: Love Under Apartheid with Tanya Keilani, Mousa Kraish, and Huda Asfour
Yousef Erakat of FouseyTube
This is My Picture When I Was Dead, by Mahmoud Al Massad
Kingdom of Women, by Dahna Abourahme
From Palestine With Love, by Mahasen Nasser-Eldin
Samia, by Mahasen Nasser-Eldin
The Time That Remains, by Elia Suleiman
Diaries, by May Odeh
Yousef Erakat of FouseyTube
Mustafa Staiti of the Freedom Theatre