From the Witness Palestine Film Festival Rochester organizers:

We are thrilled to be working with Visual Studies Workshop for an evening of short films on Thursday November 20th, 2025 from 7 to 9pm.

As part of the Fall VSW Salon, join us evening of contemporary film from Palestine, exploring the role of the moving image in a time of genocide. These shorts present three distinct approaches to filmmaking, bound by a common urgency. Building on a theme found across this year’s festival, memory provides a point of departure for each of these directors, reminding us that looking back can also be a means of looking forward.

These films will be screened alongside a recently discovered selection from the VSW archive, the audience is invited to consider the connection between Rochester and Palestine, past and present, and the linkages to be forged in the future.

The program features ‘A Night We Held Between’ by Noor Abed, ‘Morgenkreis | Morning Circle’ by Basma Alsharif, and ‘The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing’ by Theo Pangagopoulos.

A Night We Held Between (2024)

30m
Dir. Noor Abed

Myth, ritual and longing at Palestinian sites intertwine with archival songs and photos. Landscape holds cavernous memory, grief, and strength. The film centers around “Song for The Fighters,” which was found at the sonic archive of the Popular Art Center, Palestine. Through the layers of the song, in a labyrinth of sounds and sites, the film conjures history as a permanent present tense, a collective and imaginative act. 

Followed by a pre-recorded Q&A with Director Noor Abed

Morgenkreis | Morning Circle (2025)

20m
Dir. Basma Alsharif

A short visceral narrative film unfolds in three parts to describe loss. From our earliest experience of separation to the imperceptible violence associated with integrating to a new country when yours is no longer livable, Morgenkreis follows a father and son in their intimate rituals as they prepare to start the day and head to kindergarten.

The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing (2024)

17m
Dir. Theo Panagopoulos

When a Palestinian filmmaker based in Scotland unearths a rarely-seen Scottish film archive of Palestinian wild flowers, he decides to reclaim the footage. This tender film essay questions the role of image-making as a tool of both testimony and violence when connected to entanglements between people and the land.

For more information and to buy tickets: https://www.wpff.us/

Photos provided by WPFF.