Join us in celebrating the opening of the 15th edition of the Witness Palestine Film Festival, with an evening of home-cooked Palestinian cuisine. This year we are honored to welcome Pulitzer Prize winning poet Mosab Abu Toha, who will provide the keynote address at our opening dinner.
MOSAB ABU TOHA is a Palestinian poet, short story writer, and essayist from Gaza. His first collection of poetry, Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear, was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in Poetry and won a Palestine Book Award, an American Book Award, and the Derek Walcott Prize for Poetry. Abu Toha is also the founder of the Edward Said Library in Gaza, which he hopes to rebuild. He recently won an Overseas Press Club Award and a Pulitzer Prize in Commentary for his essays on Gaza in The New Yorker.
For the third consecutive year, we are fortunate to have our dinner catered by Ahlam Abid of Mama’s Palestinian Kitchen. Ahlam is a proud Palestinian who celebrates her heritage and culture through her love of cooking. As a devoted mother and active advocate within the Rochester community, she uses food as a way to bring people together, share stories, and honor her roots. Her dishes are a reflection of tradition, resilience, and the warmth of Palestinian hospitality.