Spaces of Exception + Q&A

January 25th screening with filmmaker Malek Rasamny in attendance

Spaces of Exception is a documentary film that profiles the terrains of the Indian reservation and the Palestinian refugee camp, “spaces of exception” that have become essential in the struggle for decolonization and indigenous autonomy. Shot between 2014 to 2017, Spaces of Exception observes and juxtaposes the communities and struggles of the American Indian reservation and the Palestinian refugee camp. It visits reservations in Arizona, New Mexico, New York, and South Dakota, as well camps in Lebanon and the West Bank, “places defined by their historical and spiritual resistance” in order to “understand the conditions for life, community, and sovereignty.” While the histories are distinct, dispossession and loss unite these communities in solidarity, and the alternating stories highlight both their unique tragedies and their revolutionary commonalities. Mostly eschewing archival footage, Spaces of Exception showcases the present, in which each day lived is itself an act of resistance.