Open City Documentary Festival Presents Kanafani Karaoke Fri 26 Apr

In 1970, Ghassan Kanafani – spokesman for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, writer, and Marxist-Leninist revolutionary leader – gave a 5-minute television news interview to Richard Carleton in Beirut. Two years later, Kanafani – a “commando who never fired a gun” – was assassinated by the Mossad.

Today, the interview has achieved legendary status; the rhetorical, playful power of Kanafani’s words a blueprint for the Palestinian insistence on controlling their own narratives. Kanafani Karaoke is a participatory event in which any audience member can sign up on the day to recreate this interview, and several other recently restored interviews, by reading Kanafani’s words from a script and performing them for the other attendees. No acting experience is required, just the passion to try something new. This informal, collective event will give participants the chance to experience the passion of Kanafani’s steadfastness for themselves, to develop their familiarity with the language of revolutionary politics, to defy Israel’s attempts to silence Kanafani and erase his legacy, and to have some silly fun.

This event is included in the Talks & Workshops Pass. More information here.