Show Notes
When Dr. Ghassan Abu Sittah left after 43 days of working around the clock under constant bombardment in Gaza’s emergency rooms, filmmakers Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi didn’t think twice before deciding to document his story. In this episode, they discuss A State of Passion, their latest film capturing Dr. Abu Sittah’s harrowing experience. They also reflect on their previous works, Stitching Palestine and Aida Returns. Through their work, Carol and Muna explore the power of film as a tool for advocacy, bearing witness, and preserving Palestinian narratives. This episode is hosted by Afaf Shawwa Bibi. Tarwida’s lead producer is Tala Elissa. Our executive producer is Zina Jardaneh. Our associate producer is Zeena Shehadeh. Social media by Leen Karadsheh. Branding by Sara Sukhun. Theme music includes excerpts from Clarissa Bitar, The Popular Art Centre - مركز الفن الشعبي & Rim Banna. This conversation was recorded on February 15, 2025. Tarwida is a series of conversations that bring Palestinian arts, culture and heritage to the I forefront. We hear from artists including writers, filmmakers, musicians, architects, culinary practitioners and more about their very own Palestine. In a nutshell, if you want to know more about (Creative) Palestine, this is the place to be. Follow us on @tarwidapodcast If you have been listening to the Tarwida Podcast, we want to know who you are, hear your thoughts and feedback. We welcome any suggestions for next guests or topics! Help us understand you better by filling this short survey linked below, it won’t take more than 5 minutes. We promise you a coffee next time we see you. Thank you! -- Relevant links and Resources: Follow Carol Mansour (@mansourcarol) and Muna Khalidi (@muna_khalidi) on Instagram Follow State of Passion (@state.of.passion) on Instagram Follow Aida Returns on Instagram (@aida_returns) and visit the website Follow Stitching Palestine (@stitching_palestine)
More from Tarwida
Palestinian architect Elias Khuri joins Tarwida Podcast to discuss architecture as an accumulation of people, places, histories, and knowledge. From his "Noon Insan" installation and his relationship with Elias Khoury and Kamal Boullata, to building around olive trees and restoring Khan Jaljulia, Khuri explores how architecture can preserve relationships with land and history without freezing them in place. He also reflects on the role of language in developing a contemporary Arab architectural vocabulary.
Architect and historian Nadi Abusaada joins Tarwida Podcast to discuss Palestinian cities through material culture. He explores how Palestinians reconstruct history through the traces that remain, the challenges of curating Palestinian heritage, and why romanticizing the past can obscure the realities of the present.
Artist Dima Srouji joins Tarwida Podcast to discuss glassmaking traditions in Jaba' and Hebron, the politics of archaeology in Palestine, her Amman Design Week installation, and reclaiming looted heritage through replication.
Sliman Mansour, the pioneering Palestinian artist whose paintings of olive trees, stone terraces, and steadfast women carried Palestine across generations, passed away this week at 79. In memory of his legacy, we're resharing this conversation, where he looks back on his childhood, his mischief and hardships, and speaks with humor and honesty about what art meant to him.
Palestinian abstract painter Samia Halaby, 89, on growing up in Jerusalem, the Nakba, documenting the Kafr Qasim massacre, and what censorship by Indiana University and Michigan State revealed about her art and the system.