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Tag: Palestinian

Episode 198 [in English]: This Arab Is Queer

Elias Jahshan is a Palestinian/Lebanese-Australian journalist, writer and editor. He most recently edited the anthology This Arab Is Queer, which features eighteen queer Arab writers (including a good handful of former podcast guests) sharing stories across a variety of locations, experiences, and aesthetic styles. Elias joined us to talk about growing up in Western Sydney, breaking into the journalism field in Australia and England, and the assumptions he encountered while writing for both Arab and LGBTQ centered publications. He also discussed the process of putting this memoir together, the particular care involved in editing personal work, the quandaries involved in potentially translating the book in the future, the beauty of letting people write about whatever they f*cking want, and more. 

You can find This Arab is Queer at your local independent bookstore, possibly library, bookshop.org, or Amazon if you really must.

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Episode 178 [in English]: The return of Rolla Selbak!

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 to see. We also talked about Rolla’s recent wedding, ad targeting and censorship on social media, how we watch forms of art that we work in, Carol Baskin and more!

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1672060/

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