Duilich, chan eil seo ri fhaighinn ach sa Bheurla an-dràsta.
Join us at Plockton Village Hall for a screening of Foragers by Jumana Manna. This event is part of The School of Plural Futures where eight contributors, along with artist Emmie McLuskey, are building an alternative school to speak about the reality and potential of life in Skye and Lochalsh. Whether through writing, performing or saving and sharing seeds, we will explore the act of solidarity through publishing and distribution. Bring along seeds you might want to talk about as a group, we’ll also have a seed swap set up in the space.
Foragers depicts the dramas around the practice of foraging for wild edible plants in Palestine/Israel with wry humour and a meditative pace. Shot in the Golan Heights, the Galilee and Jerusalem, it employs fiction, documentary and archival footage to portray the impact of Israeli nature protection laws on these customs. The restrictions prohibit the collection of the artichoke-like ’akkoub and za’atar (thyme), and have resulted in fines and trials for hundreds caught collecting these native plants. For Palestinians, these laws constitute an ecological veil for legislation that further alienates them from their land while Israeli state representatives insist on their scientific expertise and duty to protect. Following the plants from the wild to the kitchen, from the chases between the foragers and the nature patrol, to courtroom defences, Foragers captures the joy and knowledge embodied in these traditions alongside their resilience to the prohibitive law. By reframing the terms and constraints of preservation, the film raises questions around the politics of extinction, namely who determines what is made extinct and what gets to live on.
This screening programme is a collaboration between ATLAS Arts and Cample Line, and is supported by Film Hub Scotland.
This event is free, no need to book. On the night, we will be collecting donations for Medical Aid for Palestinans, a charity that works for the health and dignity of Palestinians living under occupation and as refugees.