Ep. 119 - Palestinian Liberation: Chicago Palestine Film Festival ft. Nina Shoman-Dajani, Justin Mashouf, & Hamzah Furqani

BrownTown shares space with Chicago Palestinian Film Festival
(CPFF) Executive Director Nina Shoman-Dajani, filmmaker Justin
Mashouf, & protagonist of the short film $17.74, Hamzah
Furqani. The team discusses the inner-workings and impact of the
longest running Palestinian film festival in the world, centering
the responsibility creators and storytellers have in sharing
their to amplify resistance, solidarity, and joy. Originally
recorded April 26, 2025.


Founded in 2001, the CPFF is an annual cultural event that serves
as a vibrant platform for showcasing the rich and diverse
narratives of Palestinian cinema. The festival provides a unique
space for filmmakers, artists, and audience members to engage
with compelling stories that explore the multifaceted aspects of
Palestinian life. Through a carefully curated selection of
feature films, documentaries, and shorts, the festival seeks to
foster a deeper understanding of the Palestinian experience.
Follow the festival on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!


GUESTS
Nina Shoman-Dajani currently serves as the Executive Director for
the Chicago Palestine Film Festival. She is also a community
college administrator and teaches Middle Eastern Studies at Saint
Xavier University and has served as a visiting lecturer at the
University of Illinois in Chicago (UIC). She is a
contributor to the recently published book Teaching Palestine:
Lessons, Stories, Voices and one of the authors of Beyond
Erasure and Profiling: Cultivating Strong and Vibrant Arab
American Communities in Chicagoland. Nina is a co-chair for
the MENA/SWANA Caucus and the Transnational/International
Committee of the National Advisory Council for the National
Conference on Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education (NCORE), a
former board member for the Arab American Studies Association and
a board member for the Syrian Community Network, a refugee
resettlement agency in Chicago. Follow Nina on Instagram!


Justin Mashouf is an award-winning filmmaker and artist based in
Los Angeles. He is the co-founder and Executive Producer of Stay
Focused Pictures, a production company specializing in
documentary development and production. A finalist for the
Pillars Fund x Riz Ahmed inaugural Artist Fellowship, Justin’s
career spans over 10 countries and includes feature films,
commercials, TV specials and documentaries including his
CPFF-accepted short film $17.74. Follow Justin on
Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and IMDB!


Hamzah Furqani is the protagonist of $17.74. Raised in Los
Angeles, Hamzah is a former gang member who spent 39 years
incarcerated. In 1989, while serving his sentence, he began his
journey of personal transformation by converting to Islam. Later,
while incarcerated and before his release, he donated a
month-long paycheck to support relief efforts in Gaza. 


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Mentioned Topics & More Info: 


Original GoFundMe from $17.74

Related episodes:

Ep. 113 - Palestinian Liberation: Divestment,
Encampments, & Institutions ft. Amoona

Ep. 112 - DNC: Pt. 2 ft. Nesreen Hasan & Nadiah
Alyafai

Ep. 111 - Palestinian Liberation: Anti-Zionism &
Jewish Solidarity ft. Rabbi Brant Rosen & Lesley Williams

Ep. 102 - Palestinian Liberation: In This Moment ft.
Muhammad Sankari



Professor Refaat Alareer (video, 1, 2)

Jackson Market, Palestinian-owned cultural market

Inner-City Muslim Action Network

Tom Callahan's Remembering Water

Kneecap pro-Palestine projections at Cochella

Epistemicide according to BnB Alum Ricardo Gamboa

2025 CPFF on Block Club Chi, Chicago Reader, Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Reporter

Nina on WBEZ Chicago Podcast about 2024 CPFF



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CREDITS: Intro song from Leve Palestina (Hijazi
Remix ) 2023 | تحيا فلسطين ; outro soundbite from Refaat Alareer.
Audio engineered by Kassandra Borah.


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