Beneath the noise of harrowing headlines and persistent propaganda, I suspect there’s a deeper movement growing: people remembering their collective power, refusing erasure, refusing silence and, choosing instead to tell their stories.
My guest today is Rolla Selbak — a Palestinian-American filmmaker and storyteller whose work is rooted in resistance, solidarity, and the imagination of freedom.
After her previous award-winning films like Choke and Three Veils, Rolla now leads the initiative Safina Filmmaker Project — born of the idea that storytelling is a shared voyage: “safina” in Arabic means “ship” or “boat,” reminding us that we are travelling together, literally passing through seas of shifting narrative.
In our conversation we talk about the ongoing genocide in Palestine, and what it means to make art inside the machinery of empire. We talk about labor unions, the power of collective strikes, and how solidarity itself becomes a form of storytelling.
We explore the links between the surveillance of Palestinians and the illegal detainments and deportations of people at home on U.S. soil — and the quiet, terrifying role that tech companies like Palantir play in both.
We talk about the No Kings Protest, Chris Smalls, The Disarm Genocide Rally and whether we can successfully organize and withhold our labor before AI finds a way to replace us. I really enjoyed this talk and think you will too.
You can find Rolla and information about her films on her website at https://www.rollaselbak.com or https://www.safinafilmmakerproject.com/
You can find her on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/rollaselbak
There’s also her exciting upcoming social thriller called The Visitor.
It’s set in Jerusalem where a demon begins erasing the memories of the communities and families and friends in the town around a young Palestinian man. Described as the Palestinian Get Out, the film depicts dark satirical horror through fantastical Palestinian folklore.
Please check out thevisitormovie.com to learn more or support the film.