Middle East Film Series: Naila and the Uprising

When a nation-wide uprising breaks out in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, a young woman in Gaza must make a choice between love, family, and freedom. Undaunted, she embraces all three, joining a clandestine network of women in a movement that forces the world to recognize the Palestinian right to self-determination for the first time. Naila and the Uprising chronicles the remarkable journey of Naila Ayesh and a fierce community of women at the frontlines, whose stories weave through the most vibrant, nonviolent mobilization in Palestinian history - the First Intifada in the late 1980s. Using evocative animation, intimate interviews, and exclusive archival footage, this film brings out of anonymity the courageous women activists who have remained on the margins of history -- until now. While most images of the First Intifada paint an incomplete picture of stone-throwing young men front and center, this film tells the story that history overlooked - of an unbending, nonviolent women's movement at the head of Palestine's struggle for freedom.

Q&A with Emma Alpert
Emma is the Public Engagement Manager for Just Vision, an organization that highlights the power and reach of Palestinians and Israelis working to end the occupation and build a future of freedom, dignity and equality. She oversees Just Vision's outreach and impact strategy in the US, Palestine and Israel to engage students, educators, faith leaders, policy makers, activists and thought leaders on this issue.