Screening: Spaces of Exception

Emerging from the multimedia research project "The Native and the Refugee", 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.

Malek Rasamny is a documentary filmmaker, researcher and writer. He is co-founder of the multimedia research project "TheNative and the Refugee" and co-author of the book The Mohawk Warrior Society. He is currently working on a doctoral research project at Paris Nanterre University concerning the social phenomenon of reincarnation within the Druze community of Lebanon.