Paradoxical Economies: A Time for Palestinian Cinema Viviane Saglier A Thesis In The Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Film and Moving Image Studies) at Concordia University Montreal, Quebec, Canada January 2019 © Viviane Saglier, 2019 CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES This is to certify that the thesis prepared By: Viviane Saglier Entitled: Paradoxical Economies: A Time for Palestinian Cinema and submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of (Film and Moving Image Studies) complies with the regulations of the University and meets the accepted standards with respect to originality and quality. Signed by the final examining committee: Chair Dr. Kevin Gould External Examiner Dr. Helga Tawil-Souri External to Program Dr. Norma Rantisi Examiner Dr. Masha Salazkina Examiner Dr. Joshua Neves Thesis Supervisor Dr. Kay Dickinson Approved by Dr. Masha Salazkina Chair of Department or Graduate Program Director 7 March 2019 Rebecca Taylor Duclos Dean Faculty of Fine Arts ABSTRACT Paradoxical Economies: A Time for Palestinian Cinema Viviane Saglier, PhD Concordia University, 2019 As scholarship on hegemonic media industries thrives in the Global North, how can we understand the emerging film economies in the South without perpetuating the discourse that they are simply “catching up”? This dissertation follows scholars of critical media industries studies, transnational cinema, and postcolonial studies to examine industry as a process in constant formation – grounded in cultural, socio-economic, and political history. In other words, industry constitutes an epistemic system that produces value, legitimacy, and modes of organization. This research analyzes a range of transnational funding streams, film festivals in Palestine, and Palestinian films produced since the Second Intifada onwards. It investigates the infrastructural and material conditions of possibility as well as the imaginaries that sustain the project of a transnational Palestinian film industry. Such a project takes root in the Palestinian civil society, in the paradoxical contexts of development under colonization in the proto-state of Palestine and the multicultural settler state of Israel. This dissertation uncovers the paradoxical present of cultural and political negotiations, attempts, and uncertainties involved in developing Palestinian film practices that are “not-yet” industries. Each chapter investigates the temporalities that specific developmental economies produce and how Palestinian film practitioners respond to it. The emerging Palestinian film economy is enmeshed in the peace process’ ideal of stability enforced through counterinsurgency (Chapter Two); the imperative of sustainability that drives human development economies (Chapter Three); the emergency that structures humanitarian economies (Chapter Four); and the promise of recognition by liberal and settler multiculturalism (Chapter Five). Palestinians adapt to these contexts by devising strategies that draw from global imaginaries, militant histories, regional human rights networks and international anticolonial struggles. By focusing on temporality to explain transnational, colonial, and postcolonial power relations, each chapter asks how political histories shape media economies, and how media economies forge political futures. This dissertation contributes to interdisciplinary conversations around media and development by bridging media industries studies, postcolonial studies, postdevelopment theory, and critical media infrastructure studies. ! """! ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation partakes in settler colonialism in Turtle Island at the very same time it describes colonial processes of dispossession in Palestine-Israel. I would like to begin by acknowledging that this thesis was written on the unceded lands of the Kanien’kehá:ka Nation, where I have lived as a settler for the past eight years. A product of colonial privilege, this research also constitutes the work of friendship and solidarity. First, my utmost gratitude and thanks go to my supervisor Kay Dickinson, who so generously read countless drafts, encouraged my least conforming intuitions, and shared inestimable critical insights, recommendations, and opportunities for new friendships, projects, and adventures. I could not have hoped for a better mentor and comrade. I would like to extend my sincere thanks to the members of the final examining committee. Masha Salazkina has been a guide since the early days of my graduate studies and I am very grateful for her unflinching emotional and professional support throughout the years. Many thanks to Joshua Neves for his measured advice, his practical optimism, and for offering a space to explore new collective research ventures. To Helga Tawil-Souri and Norma Rantisi, thank you so much for taking the time to read this thesis. Institutional support can take many different forms. At Concordia, I would also like to thank Luca Caminati, whose MA course on postcolonial cinema was decisive in orientating my research interests. Marc Steinberg read my comprehension exam and was always encouraging. Martin Lefebvre provided me with research opportunities and great advice. Over my eight years in the Film department, I have received great help and support from the administrative staff. I wrote this dissertation with the financial assistance of the Fonds de Recherche du Québec Société-Culture (FRQSC) and Concordia University. This dissertation would be much less readable without the help of Patrick Brodie, who tirelessly chased typos and corrected my faulty English. Many thanks to Farah Atoui, who assisted me with some of the Arabic translations. I am also indebted to Greg Burris, Umayyah Cable, Kareem Estefan, and Terri Ginsberg, who graciously shared unpublished work with me. For their feedback and heated discussions, I would like to thank my PhD cohort: Antoine Damiens, Dan Leberg, Meredith Slifkin, Fulvia Massimi, and Rachel Webb Jekanowski. For their enthusiasm and inspiring conversations, thank you to the members of the reading group of the Political Imaginary of Waiting. During my stays in Palestine, I benefited from the immense generosity of many filmmakers and organizers who made themselves available to talk to me. Not all get to be cited in the dissertation but I could not have written any of it without them: Dima Abu Ghoush, Salim Abu Jabal, Muayad Alayan, Khaled Alayyan, Hanna Atallah, Casey Asprooth-Jackson, Alia Arasoughly, Nahed Awwad, Anis Barghouti, Lina Bokhary, Annemarie Jacir, Dara Khader, George Khleifi, Khaled Mozian, Mahasen Nasser-Eldin, May Odeh, Fadya Salah Al-Deen, Reem Shilleh, and Mohanad Yaqubi among others. From Palestine to Lebanon, all my love to Cara, Judith, Juljia, Mo, and iv Sami for being the most welcoming roommates and hosts. Thanks to Alex, Branwen, Fadi, Henry, Isabelle, Isaac, Jeannot, Rachel, Valentine and Zoe for being the best travelling companions. In London, thanks to Nick Denes, Jenny, and Louise. In Chicago, many thanks to the team of the Chicago Palestine Film Festival and Danielle Schwartz for their time. In Paris, thanks to Anaïs Farine from Ciné-Palestine. In Toronto, thanks to Dania Majid from the Toronto Palestine Film Festival. For their dearest friendship and the road trips, debates, and laughs we have shared over the years, I am very grateful to: Kristen Alfaro, Beatriz Bartolomé Herrera, Catherine Bernier, Karine Bouchard, Fanny Bréart, Patrick Brodie, Jesse Dinneen, Enrique Fibla Gutierrez, Philipp Dominik Keidl, Sima Kokotovic, Dominic Leppla, Juan Llamas-Rodriguez, Fulvia Massimi, Zach Melzer, Francisco Monar, Emilie Nguyen, Verónica Pérez Tejeda, Joaquín Serpe, Patrick Brian Smith, and so many more. For their wonderful friendship and the precious moments we spent developing creative and political projects together, I would like to thank: Farah Atoui, Mary Ellen Davis, Muhammad El-Khairy, Rodrigue Jean, Svetla Turnin, and Ezra Winton. À mes ami.e.s de France, Antoine, Christelle, Guillaume, Jeanne, Laurence, Solveig, Sophie, Vanessa, merci. For being there, thank you, Allister Roberts. ! Finally, for their generosity and their unconditional love and support, my profound gratitude goes to my dear parents Claire and Patrick Saglier. v Table of Contents ! ! LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS .................................................................................................... viii INTRODUCTION – A Time for Palestinian Cinema ................................................................1 !!!!Time, Governance, and Economies. ............................................................................................4 Media Industries Studies and Temporality: The “Not-Yet” .......................................................5 Chapter Breakdown .....................................................................................................................7 Methodology ................................................................................................................................9 A Note on Terminology .............................................................................................................16 CHAPTER ONE – Paradoxical Economies .............................................................................17 After National Cinema ...............................................................................................................23! From Trauma to Practice .......................................................................................................24