Event

A Film Screening of MIRAL by Julian Schnabel
Director of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

"Based on the autobiographic novel of the same name by Rula Jebreal, Julian Schnabel's MIRAL is a poignant and powerful drama that chronicles nearly four decades of change in the Middle East, told entirely from the unique perspective of a young Palestinian girl named Miral. Beginning in the late 1940s, just as the State of Israel is born, the film introduces us to three different women whose destinies are forged by the seismic shifts that occur when Palestine is subsumed by this new Israeli nation. These women, each of whom is given her own introductory chapter at the beginning of the film, are Miral's mother, aunt, and surrogate mother. But, it is Miral herself, a thinly veiled version of the author - screenwriter Jebreal, who emerges as the true protagonist - a constantly evolving character who inherits qualities from each of her forbears, learns from their experiences, and eventually becomes a woman strong enough and wise enough to remember - and write - this epic story of a divided country."

Pastries from Manakeesh and Popcorn to accompany the movie!

Co-sponsored by Penn Cinema Studies Program and Middle East Center.