The Queer Arabs

Rolla Selbak is a Palestinian-American filmmaker, writer, and director whose work has pushed boundaries of representation for Arab, Muslim, and queer characters. We were so excited to have her back to catch up since her first episode, right at the beginning of the pandemic. Rolla’s recent projects include the short film “Finjan” (which you can watch online now) and “Ya Bint”, a dramedy TV series co-created with Dina Shihabi (currently in the works). Rolla discussed the new experience of writing for a producer’s studio after working in the indie scene and adapting to expectations about what mainstream audiences might want…

Raed Rafei is a Lebanese filmmaker, researcher, and multimedia journalist, currently pursuing a PhD in film and digital media at the University of California, Santa Cruz. It was a joy to have Raed back on the podcast after meeting him at the exhibit Mark for Redaction 3(!) years ago! We discussed Raed’s academic research on queer Lebanese filmmakers, focusing on perspectives that go beyond frameworks of identity politics and individual rights, and see queer communities at the forefront of broader political change.  We also talked about his first feature film “The Reconstitution of a Struggle” about the 1974 student occupation…

Mariam Bazeed is a nonbinary Egyptian immigrant, writer, editor, spoken word artist, performer, and cook living in Brooklyn. An alliteration-leaning writer of prose, poetry, plays, and personal essays, Mariam received their MFA in Fiction from Hunter College. Their work in all genres is in print and online, and their plays have been presented in festivals in the U.S. and abroad. Mariam joined us to talk about their start as an writer, their recent dive into poetry, reconnecting with family after extended separation, the joys and challenges of making personal work public, and writing bilingually for the first time.  Their new…

Pedro (project coordinator of The Love Tank’s London-based Queer Migrant Men Project) and Ali (volunteer with the project) joined us for this week’s episode!  The QMM project was developed in response to the wide information gap in London among migrants, causing difficulty accessing sexual health services.  When migrants don’t know the language, their rights, or about the free services available in the country, it becomes impossible for them to prevent and/or treat STIs and HIV. This is what inspired the decision to form the QMM project.  The project received funding by London Community Response this year, and now a small…

We’ve got a catchup episode with Ellie, Alia, and Nadia this week! We talk a little bit about our local disasters this week (Hurricane Ida and the new abortion laws in Texas). Then we need a mental break, so we play some hypothetical games (borrowed from the Just Between Us Podcast): “Would you stay with that cheater?” and “Are you a terrible parent?” Listen to find out how we would react to secret arranged marriages and whether we would tell our hypothetical kids that vegetables grow from jellybean seeds.

This week, Alia, Nadia, and Ellie joined to catch up with Armenian-Palestinian-American Artivist Aram Ronaldo, who you might remember from the “Land Back episode.” This time, we focused on Aram’s work in theater, from the MENA-focused Golden Thread Productions in the Bay Area, to the wonderfully queer “Camp Morning Wood: A Very Naked Musical” in New York. We discussed the logistics of theater reopening (naked or not), how alternative companies may be more adaptable to safe practices, and what aspects of virtual/hybrid performance are here to stay. Aram also talked about the challenges of shifting deep-seated beliefs from anti-vaxing to…

Fadl Fakhouri is a Palestinian-American visual and multidisciplinary artist, currently based in NYC and pursuing an MFA at Columbia University. Their work considers borders of the state, identity, and interpersonal relationships in an effort to undo their oppressive nature, and sometimes includes film, installation, performance, and rocks.  Fadl joined us (in person!) to talk about pursuing art “seriously” after working in the medical field, their recent trip to Palestine, and their in-progress work “What the Fuck is Tel Aviv?” We also talked about contending with privilege and trauma in artmaking  and embracing problematic moments as part of the way to…

Fatima Elie, who goes by @fatimaelie is a Toronto based, Lebanese queer artist and film photographer. Her work, often documentary in style, showcases her love for her heritage and the world around her often seeing things others overlook. She is also a multidisciplinary artist who enjoys experimenting  with the art of Arabic calligraphy along with mixed media. The goal of her project in October is to highlight the beautiful stories of the people living in Lebanon, she wants to capture stories, share them with the world, and give back to the community and those that have participated in the project. On this episode,…

Alia and Nebal (thank you Nebal for guest co-hosting!) got to talk to author Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi about her newly released novel Savage Tongues!  The novel examines gender constructs in Islam and the West, and the intersections of sexual desire and violence amidst the ongoing subjugation of the Middle East to imperialism. In the book, she argues for queer intellectual exchange and female friendship as alternative structures to oppose patriarchy, heteronormativity, and the imposed religious, racial, and ethnic homogeneity of nationalism. In addition to talking about the novel itself, we discussed shared experiences navigating coming from a mixed…

This week we have an unfiltered, unedited personal episode with Nadia, Alia, and Ellie in the spirit of last year’s InsecuriTEA series. We discuss our thoughts on the label “activist,” the need for psychological realism in leftist organizing, and our feelings of political, personal, professional, and podcast burnout. We also discuss our respective job instabilities and new directions (Alia’s starting a coding bootcamp!), Nadia’s recent trip to Lebanon, post(?)-pandemic dating struggles, and finding the balance between spending time with aging family members and living our messiest lives.