VIRTUAL PALS: TPFF LIVE AT HOME
In response to these challenging times, The Toronto Palestine Film Festival has launched Virtual Pals: Toronto Palestine Film Festival Live At Home! to support our artists and community impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In accordance with our mandate to foster connections and support Palestinian artists we are mobilizing art to combat the impact of this pandemic on the creative industry and our isolated audience members.
Virtual Pals: TPFF Live At Home! brings a variety of live performances, classes, and activities into homes around the globe. The programming spotlights Palestinian artists and Palestinian-owned businesses affected by shutdowns.
Join us on Saturday, May 1st at 5PM EST for a live cooking demo and an interactive discussion with Toronto-based chefs, Costa Warwar from Flaming Stove and Faris Awwad from Eggstatic.
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Join us for a special storytelling session with Sarah Abusarar from Toronto and Fidaa Ataya from Palestine.
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Join us for a thought-provoking, live Q&A with Leila Sansour (Director, Open Bethlehem) and Mirna Barham, Director of Bethlehem Culture Festival as we discuss life, arts and cultural defiance in occupied Bethlehem.
As we approach another holiday under lockdown, we are excited to present Virtual Pals: Holiday Edition with a special weekend-long screening of the critically-acclaimed documentary OPEN BETHLEHEM, accompanied by a live thought-provoking discussion with Leila Sansour (film director) and Mirna Barham (Director, Bethlehem Cultural Festival).
Watch Darna Toronto's Executive Chef teach us how to make their Siadiyeh (seabass & rice), Rushtayeh (a lentil & noodle dish) and Knafeh with full recipes and demonstrations included.
Watch Palestinian-Syrian Chef Reem Assil show us how to make her delicious Shorbat Freekeh, a cracked green wheat chicken soup.
3000 Nights Film Screening, followed by Q&A with director Mai Masri. We've partnered with our friends at Cinema Politica to provide you with an exclusive free livestream of the internationally-acclaimed film 3000 Nights. The film will stream directly on the TPFF website on Sunday at 4:00 PM sharp, followed by a Q&A with director Mai Masri. The film will be subsequently available for streaming, at any time, on Cinema Politica On Demand - a platform for social progressive films.
Chef Faris Awwad from Eggstatic! Join us for a live cooking demonstration by Chef Faris Awwad from Eggstatic in Toronto as he shows us how to make a delicious Shakshuka and a healthy smoothie. Eggstatic serves a delicious array of Arab brunch dishes and is available for delivery.
Storyteller Sarah Abu Sharar! Historically, Palestinians spent their Ramadan evenings gathered around the fire and in cafes listening to stories. To honour this long-standing tradition, we invited Toronto-based storyteller, Sarah Abu Sharar to share some traditional tales from Palestine. Sarah will tell a Muslim Palestinian folktale focusing on the theme of generosity, inside a frame of a family story on the Nakba. Sarah mostly works with traditional Palestinian stories, trying to preserve the Palestinian folk art of storytelling.
Visual Artist Hanny Khoury, live from Alberta! Join us for an exclusive virtual studio tour with the talented Palestinian painter. Hanny's unique artwork reflects Palestinian art history and his life's journey. He will also tell us what Guinness world record he broke in 2015!
DJ Storytelling by Rasha Hilwi, live from Berlin! Join us for a unique musical storytelling experience; one that creates a sense of "home" - a space for escapement, belonging and longing. Rasha is a Palestinian writer, cultural journalist, co-editor in chief of Raseef22, a DJ, co-founder of Khan Aljanub book store in Berlin and "Hammam Radio", a feminist participatory project. You can find Rasha on Instagram, Soundcloud, and Twitter.
Singer Samah Mustafa will perform live from Palestine! Samah’s musical journey was influenced by Arabic classical songs and folk music, which she has combined together along with contemporary music to develop her own unique musical style. You can follow Samah on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, and her website.
Join us for a live performance of Palestinian folkloric songs with Toronto-based Palestinian singer, Hala Ayyad. In addition to folkloric songs, Hala also performs Arabic classical and pop songs. You can follow her on Instagram and Facebook.
Join our virtual Dabke workshop brought to you by Instructor Samir Hasan from DabkeWorld.com. The online platform has taught over 10,000 people to date! They're currently running a COVID-19 pay-what-you-can program.
DabkeWorld has recently rebranded. Show them some love by following them on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.
Musician Yusor Hamed live from Ramallah! Yusor is a Palestinian Indie musician with an Arabic music background mixed with electronic music.
DJ ODDZ will perform live from Tehran! Ramallah-based DJ and producer ODDZ is a key player in Palestine's underground music scene.
singer-songerwriter Ruba Shamshoum will keep you hooked with her poetic dream pop and colourful harmonies
Poet Farah Chamma will first captivate audiences across the globe with her multilingual slam poetry.
Meet DJ @_hibasalameh - Purveyor of electronic, deep, nostalgic atmosphere. When not in her studio making music, she is a filmmaker and producer, who formerly owned @scenemusicbar in Haifa.
Get ready to dance to her LIVE set!
Simona is recognized as one of the best derbakeh players in the world, and is lauded as the first female percussionist from an Arab background.
Stream her live performance featuring violinist @mohamedzahireldin via our Facebook and Instagram pages!
Stream his live Arabic baking demo via our Facebook and Instagram pages! Recognized as one of the top restaurants serving Arab cuisine, Flaming Stove in Toronto is offering takeout and delivery of its popular dishes during the current shutdown.
Join us from home by streaming Noel's live performance on Facebook or Instagram. You can make song requests and ask her questions about her artistry.
We're celebrating the release of Chef Sami Tamimi's brand new cookbook Falastin with an exclusive cooking demonstration by Chef Tamimi in his London kitchen! Watch him demonstrate how to prepare his delicious Chicken Musakhan recipe featured in his latest cookbook. Falastin is a soulful tour of Palestinian cuisine from Ottolenghi's Executive Chef Sami Tamimi, with 120 traditional recipes contextualized by his personal narrative of the Palestine he grew up in. Order it online now at https://tinyurl.com/ya6heuc7
Follow Chef Sami Tamimi online:
Instagram: @sami_tamimi @appetite_randomhouse
Twitter: @Samitamimi@PenguinRandomCA