Forbidden to Wander chronicles the experiences of a 25-year-old Arab American woman traveling on her own in the occupied territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip during the summer of 2002. The film is a reflection on the complexity of Palestinian existence and the torturously disturbing “ordinariness” of living under constant curfew. The film’s title reflects this, as the Arabic words used to describe the imposed curfew “mane’ tajawwul” literally translate as “forbidden to wander”. The video is also the journey of personal discovery for the filmmaker, the wanderer who falls in love with a Palestinian man in Gaza.
A conversation on the agency of storytelling, journalistic integrity, and the preservation of narrative with Susan Youssef, filmmaker and Onur Burcak Belli, Journalist and World Fellow.
Co-sponsored by the MacMillan Center
About Susan Youssef
Susan Youssef is the writer/director of two dramatic features, a documentary, and seven shorts that have been official selections of film festivals such as Venice, Toronto International, and Sundance, as well as have been programmed in museums including Tate Modern, New Museum, and Museum of Modern Art - New York. She is a Fulbright Fellow, Princess Grace Award Winner, and 21st Century Fox Director Fellow. Prior to filmmaking, she was a schoolteacher and journalist in Beirut.