We close the 23rd annual Chicago Palestine Film Festival with a reception beginning at 6:00 p.m. The film will begin promptly at 7:00 p.m.

LYD

2023, dirs. Rami Younis, Sarah Ema Friedland
Palestine, United States, United Kingdom, 78 mins
In Arabic with English subtitles

LYD follows the rise and fall of Lyd — a 5,000-year-old metropolis that was once a bustling Palestinian town until it was conquered when the State of Israel was established in 1948. As the film unfolds, a chorus of characters creates a tapestry of the Palestinian experience of this city and the trauma left by the massacre and expulsion. LYD is the story of a city that once connected Palestine to the world — what it once was, what it is now, and what it could have become.

Post-film Q&A with Director Rami Younis

Preceded by the short film:

RESISTANCE CLIMBING

2023, dirs. Nick Rosen & Zachary Barr
USA + Palestine, 37 min.
In English + Arabic with English subtitles

In the strife-torn hills of Palestine, a diverse crew of Bedouins and urban professionals embrace climbing as a much-needed respite from the burdens of the Israeli occupation. American writer & climber Andrew Bisharat visits the West Bank to explore his own roots and the transformational power of climbing as resistance.