天美mv天美

On July 19th 2025, University Canada West (UCW) and 天美mv天美 ( 天美mv天美) co-hosted Nawartoona (賳賵乇鬲賵賳丕 ): Joy and Resistance鈥揑nterdisciplinary Dialogues on the Middle East and North Africa and Decolonial Futures, a one-day public symposium including a film screening and panel discussion developed in partnership with the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) Film Festival. Drawing upon the Arabic greeting nawartoona鈥斺�測ou have brought light to us鈥濃�攖he event was designed to illuminate the richness, diversity, and contemporary dynamism of the people in the MENA region. We aimed to challenge reductive Orientalist and homogeneous frames that impact our communities back home, in the diaspora, and within Canadian public discourse.

Films Screened

3350 KM | Sara Kontar | France-Syria | 13 min

From my room in Paris, in exile, after seven years spent far from my home in Syria, far from my father dwelling alone, surrounded by the ghosts of the past and a lost future 鈥� as he constantly reminds me 鈥� I began recording our phone conversations over the internet.

we would be freer | Rana Nazzal Hamadeh | Canada-Palestine | 9 min

we would be freeris a short film that reflects on indigenous relationships to wild plants under settler-colonialism. The film travels from one occupied land to another through the voices of two women, one from the Mohawk community of Kahnaw谩:ke and the other an internally displaced refugee in Ramallah, as it submerges viewers in the life cycle of the sumac plant.

Neo Nahda | May Ziad茅 | Lebanon-UK | 13 min

Mona, a young woman in London, finds archived photographs of Arab women cross-dressing in the Middle East in the 1920s. Somewhere between her fantasies and reality, she starts a feverish journey of uncovering lost histories and her own identity. Through a coming-of-age narrative, the film explores the euphoric relationship those who are marginalised create with images and symbols, and how archive images can be a portal for the world of inner projections, creating meaning and grounding one鈥檚 identity.

Bougainvillea | Yasir Faiz | Sudan | 17 min

Amidst Sudan鈥檚 popular revolution in December 2018, a group of six women found themselves ensnared within the confines of oppression.Through their journey, a powerful narrative unfolds, revealing the transformative power of determination and the enduring hope that resides within the human spirit.

A Tale of The Man & The Land | Soukayna Essaidi | Morocco | 12 min

The short documentary 鈥淎 Tale of The Man & The Land鈥� captures the meaning of 鈥渉omeland鈥� from the perspective of the people of Tafraout (a town in southern Morocco). The short documentary portrays the place that Tafraout holds in the hearts of its people. It is a reflection of the emotional bond between the humankind (The Man) and the homeland (The Land).

The Moped and the Goldfinch | Amir Bensa茂fi | Algeria | 13 min

This project is a short film that tells us the story of Moufida, from a village in eastern Algeria, who decides to go and see her lover in Algiers by crossing the country on a moped. She finds herself confronted with the author of her story. A discussion between the two begins generating some tension.

Blood Like Water | Dima Hamdan | Palestine | 14 min

The film is based on the true stories of gay Palestinian men who are constantly targeted and blackmailed by the Israeli occupation. Many of them have been forced to collaborate with the army against their own people to avoid being outed to their communities.

Panel Discussion: Joy, Resistance, and Decolonial Futures

The panel explored the intersecting themes of identity, exile, queerness, displacement, decolonization, and belonging as reflected in the evening鈥檚 curated film selections. Spanning geographies from Syria to Algeria, Palestine to Sudan, the films engage with both intimate and collective struggles鈥攐ffering narratives of joy, defiance, memory, and healing.Through personal storytelling, archival reimaginings, and political commentary, the films challenge dominant narratives and offer alternative visions grounded in lived experience, ancestral connection, and creative resistance. Panelists鈥攄rawn from diverse disciplines including film, art, and critical scholarship鈥攔eflected on the social and political significance of these works.The discussion included audience participation that will invite viewers to reflect on the relationship between art, activism, and storytelling in times of crisis and transformation.

Opening remarks were delivered by , President and Vice-Chancellor of University Canada West. An artist by vocation and training, Dr. Makhoul鈥檚 works explore themes of conflict, displacement and identity, and have been featured in top galleries worldwide. A digital display of his artwork was presented at the event.

Panelists:

• Hala Mousa - Lecturer in the Business Communications Department at University Canada West.
• Tasneem Alsayyed - Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Social Justice at University Canada West.
• Leen Issa - is a Palestinian-Canadian filmmaker and video editor, born and raised in Syria.
• Sami Shahin - is a Palestinian-Syrian multi-disciplinary artist.
• Shereen Kotb (Panel Moderator) - Assistant Professor of Political Science and Philosophy at University Canada West.