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A New Platform
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Still from "The Encampments"
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Martin Scorsese, everyone’s favorite filmmaker (and now the star of his daughter Francesca’s TikTok videos), no longer goes to the cinema. As the Guardian reports, the legendary director recently told film critic Peter Travers that he’s “appalled by the behavior of his fellow cinema-goers.” People chatting, constantly using their cell phones, and leaving during the movie to get snacks are just a few of the reasons why a trip to the multiplex is now off the table for him.
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I am conflicted about this news. For one, I love going to the cinema. I don’t think I could ever stay away from it entirely. But I also understand what the great man is feeling. Bad cinema etiquette is one of my biggest pet peeves. As a member of the press, I’m lucky to attend press screenings, where my colleagues are mostly well-behaved, and occasionally I get sent press screeners to watch films online, which makes my life easier.
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Look, I know that there are more serious problems. But is it really so hard to refrain from checking your crush’s Instagram story for three hours while Tom Cruise is literally risking his life to stop the bad guy and deliver a one-of-a-kind experience for us? Marty, if you are reading this, please know that I am with you. And I have a recommendation for you, since you won’t be heading to the cinema anytime soon.
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Nowadays, there are too many streaming platforms, but I think this latest one is worth our attention: Launched last month by Palestinian-owned production company and distribution label Watermelon Pictures, Watermelon+ is home to the largest collection of Palestinian cinema ever assembled online. It’s billed as a “cultural archive, cinematic rebellion, and a launchpad for what’s next.” Among its offerings is Michael T Workman and Kei Pritsker’s much-talked-about documentary “The Encampments,” about the recent student-led protests at Columbia University (with Mahmoud Khalil as one of its protagonists), and also “From Ground Zero,” an anthology made up of short films by 22 Gazan filmmakers. There are classic films on there (from Elia Suleiman or Annemarie Jacir) and also more recent releases like Farah Nabulsi’s “The Teacher”.
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While the platform is naturally focussing on Palestinian cinema, it’s also expanding soon to include stories from other countries, such as Sudan (with the documentary Sudan, Remember Us) and Pakistan (with the animated film The Glassworker). I’m curious to see where this journey goes and how Watermelon+, with its catalog of marginalized and underrepresented stories from around the globe fares in today’s crowded streaming landscape.
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Managing Editor, the Diasporist
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A Launch Party for the Diasporist
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We're finally having a launch party - come join us on 3 July at bUm in Berlin to celebrate!
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The evening will take the form of a late-night talk show, hosted by Emily Dische-Becker. Emily and her guests, including Achan Malonda, Alena Jabarine, Basma al-Sharif, and Ben Miller, among others, will discuss strategies for finding defiant joy in the face of Germany’s legendary negative hospitality and for maintaining hope amidst the apparent triumph of authoritarian nationalism.
Tickets are now live, and you can get yours here. Since this is meant as a fundraising event, we recommend a minimum donation of 10 EUR.
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Logging Off
Julia Bosson
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In The Right to Oblivion, Lowry Pressly offers a spirited and unexpected defense of the importance of privacy outside of a legalistic framework. Privacy protects (and produces) what Pressly calls a state of “oblivion,” or “a form of the unknown that… is essentially resistant to articulation and discovery.” In other words, the ineffable, ambiguous multitudes contained in each of us.
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When I stop writing this text and pick up my phone, which I have done several dozen times, intentionally and otherwise, I sacrifice my privacy: not just the information that my phone gathers about me, from the extra seconds my fingers hover over a cat video on Instagram or which news sites I prefer, but the privacy of solitude. A liked post, a read message, a “last seen” status all require an awareness, a publicity that prevents a state of oblivion.
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