Baha Hilo is a Palestinian educator and activist from Bethlehem who graduated in sociology from Birzeit University. He has worked for years with human rights organisations such as the UN, the Joint Advocacy Initiative of the YMCA & YWCA and the Badil Centre for Residency and Refugees Rights. In 2013, he founded the 'To Be There' initiative to educate non-Palestinians by organising visits and educational solidarity programmes. He is also the facilitator of the FFIPP Summer Programme and coordinator of activities at the Citadel Café, a cultural centre in Beit Sahour. He has appeared in documentaries including 'Walled Citizen' and 'Israelism'. Baha Hilo is an educator whose work has reached many different corners of the globe. He has been invited by international organisations, cultural institutions and universities such as Bard College in New York. He has lectured in various parts of the world, including Brazil, the USA, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Norway. Through these platforms, he has received global and local audiences, sharing his knowledge and experience of the realities of life in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Baha's educational initiatives aim to raise international awareness and build global solidarity.
The program also includes the Polish premiere of the documentary film Israelism. The film was directed by two Jewish filmmakers, Erin Axelman and Sam Eilertsen, whose personal experiences are similar to those of the characters in the story. Israelism won the Best Documentary Award at the Arizona International Film Festival, the Best Documentary Award at the Tallgrass Film Festival, the Spirit Award at the Brooklyn Film Festival and the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, which is the oldest, largest and most prestigious Jewish film festival in the US. These awards underline the importance of the film, which shows the changing American Jewish perspective on Israel. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion with special guests at the event director Erin Axelman and sociologist Baha Hilo, who will talk about their experiences and inspiration for creating and starring in the film Israelism, as well as share their thoughts on the situation in the region and their methods of working for a just peace and humanitarianism.
Movie in English with Polish subtitles.
Event Schedule in Łódź:
- November 18, 6:00 PM – Screening of Israelism followed by a discussion at the Marek Edelman Dialogue Center.
- December 1, 4:00 PM – Screening of Israelism followed by a discussion at the Academic Design Center, Academy of Fine Arts.
- December 2, The Leon Schiller Polish National Film, Television and Theatre School.
- December 3, 6:00 PM – Meeting with Baha Hilo: Lecture and discussion at the MS2 Museum of Art.
Partners: Rector of the University of Łódź, Łódź Multicultural Center, "Al-andalus" Center for Oriental Languages, Academic Design Center, and the Władysław Strzemiński Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź, Museum of Art in Łódź, The Leon Schiller Polish National Film, Television and Theatre School, Reorient podcast: Ewa Górska.
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