10/23/2025
Thanks everyone for joining us before yesterday to the screening of two short films Drawing for better dreams (2015) and Gaza by Her (2017) by Palestinian director May Odeh.
Released mid 2010’s , these films reminded us that the persecution of the Indigenous people of Palestine did not begin on October 7th, but rather decades ago, shaping the way Palestinians have built their lives and dreams.
Gaza by Her brought us poignant testimonies from women sharing their dreams for a better future. It is painful to think that these women and their families might not be alive today, and heartbreaking to witness how it is this entire culture that is being erased today. It is a stark reminder that what’s being destroyed are individual lives and futures, not just numbers.
Following the screening of Drawing for better dreams, it was deeply moving to realize that Palestinian children who were already suffering from recurring nightmares 10 years ago - drawing tanks, shootings, and faces marked by fear - are now, without exception, facing unimaginable traumas. Nonetheless, we hold on to a message of hope: hope in seeing communities around the world running rehabilitation programs for the children and witnessing positive results with art therapy.
We must continue to educate ourselves about what is happening in Palestine today, as well as what has happened and what is yet to come, and find ways to keep Palestinian culture alive.
Because, as a wise voice in one of the films said: “The children don’t belong to us; they belong with us”.
