Rooted in a profound sense of cultural duty, Oscar-nominated and BAFTA-recognized filmmaker and poet Hind Shoufani unpacks a lifetime of artistic resistance and stateless identity. This conversation navigates the complexities of Palestinian liberation and the enduring legacy of the PLO through the poignant lens of her activist family. From the relentless grit behind her feature documentary, Trip Along Exodus, to her fifteen-year multimedia endeavor tracking Arab women poets in, The Poeticians, the discussion explores voices that boldly challenge both Western and Arab expectations. The episode culminates with an inside look into her upcoming 2027 release, They Planted Strange Trees,, which serves as a classical love letter to the resilience of indigenous Palestinian Christians reclaiming their ancestral land.
Rooted in a profound sense of cultural duty, Oscar-nominated and BAFTA-recognized filmmaker and poet Hind Shoufani unpacks a lifetime of artistic resistance and stateless identity. This conversation navigates the complexities of Palestinian liberation and the enduring legacy of the PLO through the poignant lens of her activist family. From the relentless grit behind her feature documentary, Trip Along Exodus, to her fifteen-year multimedia endeavor tracking Arab women poets in, The Poeticians, the discussion explores voices that boldly challenge both Western and Arab expectations. The episode culminates with an inside look into her upcoming 2027 release, They Planted Strange Trees,, which serves as a classical love letter to the resilience of indigenous Palestinian Christians reclaiming their ancestral land.
00:00 Introduction
01:02 Growing Up Secular & Socialist in the Arab World
06:03 Independent Paths & the Complexity of Belonging
09:44 Documenting Untold Realities
16:01 The Grit of Filmmaking a Father's Legacy
24:59 Subverting Expectations with The Poetitions Project
31:40 Giving Voice to Erotica, Grief & Diaspora During Conflict
37:18 A Poet's Impulse & Channeling Words in Dark Times
38:15 Reclaiming the Galilee: A Love Letter to Ancestral Roots
43:35 Structural Themes of Resilience and Looking Toward 2027
Hind Shoufani is a Palestinian filmmaker and writer living in New York. A Fulbright scholar and MFA graduate in Filmmaking from NYU, she was a writer in residence at the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa in 2011. Hind was also recently awarded a 2026 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship in NonFiction Literature.
Her film work has earned international recognition, including a BAFTA and an Academy Award nomination for the short film The Present. She has directed, produced, and edited dozens of documentaries and experimental films over her 28-year career. Hind's feature documentary Trip Along Exodus screened in more than 40 cities, and she produced the Palestinian film Heavy Metal, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. Her poetry and prose have appeared in numerous international publications, and for nearly two decades she has curated Poeticians, a collective of poets and musicians performing in Beirut, Dubai, and Brooklyn. Dark Star Requiem is her first full poetry collection published in the United States with Diode Editions. She is currently working on her second Palestinian feature film "They Planted Strange Trees.
Connect with Hind Shoufani 👉 https://www.instagram.com/gonewiththehind/