TL;DR
Get art and craft supplies delivered free with Prime
- Fast, free delivery on millions of items
- Prime Video, Amazon Music and more included
- Member-only deals all year
A Hyperallergic essay by editor-in-chief Hakim Bishara recounts his response to a New York Film Festival screening of the Edward Said documentary Between Worlds. The piece connects a conversation with his young son about death to encounters with art, history and images of Jerusalem, Haifa and Nazareth, alongside New York.
Hyperallergic editor-in-chief Hakim Bishara recounts crying during a New York Film Festival screening of the Edward Said documentary Between Worlds, in a personal essay that links the film to questions of grief, family, art and belonging. The account moves between an exchange with his young son about death and everyday encounters in New York before ending on images of Jerusalem, Haifa and Nazareth.
Bishara opens with a morning drive to take his son, René, to kindergarten. After the child asks, “What’s the point of all this?” Bishara connects the question to a conversation the previous day about death and his difficulty explaining where the boy’s grandfather, Bishara’s father, might be. The essay does not offer a neat answer; it follows the question as it resurfaces among ordinary routines and public events.
In the days around the screening, Bishara describes attending a Hyperallergic members’ event at the International Studio & Curatorial Program in Brooklyn, eating fortune cookies, sheltering from rain in Bushwick and noticing conversations and passersby. He also mentions the Milwaukee Art Museum returning two jars to descendants of Dave the Potter, a Black American artist who was enslaved for much of his life in the 19th century. That episode places art, historical memory and the return of objects among the essay’s recurring concerns.
On the way to the film, Bishara says a subway passenger’s shirt, decorated with symbols of major religions and the word “coexistence,” irritated him when the man stood in his way. Inside the screening, he says he cried repeatedly. Later images—including a discarded Carl Jung book, a person in a bunny costume and shoes in a Hermès window—lead into the closing vision of places tied to Bishara’s personal and cultural geography. The article presents these as his recollections and impressions, not as a review or a report on the documentary’s contents.
A Film Screening Meets Family Memory
The essay’s significance lies in how it frames a filmgoing experience through personal grief and parenthood, rather than treating the screening as a conventional review. Bishara’s account makes the documentary’s title a point of departure for reflecting on the different places, histories and identities that occupy his thoughts, including New York and cities in Palestine.
Its references to Dave the Potter and the return of the jars also connect individual memory to the treatment of art linked to enslavement. The source does not claim that the film prompted the museum’s action or that the two events are directly connected. Instead, the essay places them side by side in a series of encounters that shaped the writer’s week.
Popular right now
LG C2 Series 65-Inch OLED evo 4K Smart TV (OLED65C2PUA, 2022)
KitchenAid Artisan Series 5-Quart Tilt-Head Stand Mixer, Dried Rose (KSM150PS)
Dreame L40 Ultra Gen 2 Robot Vacuum and Mop
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
The Week Around the Screening
The source is a first-person essay by Bishara included with Hyperallergic’s weekly newsletter, which also featured art news and other coverage. Its format matters: the film screening is one episode in a personal sequence, not the subject of a reported investigation. The details about Bishara’s son, his father and his reactions are presented in the writer’s own voice.
The essay identifies Between Worlds as an Edward Said documentary shown at the New York Film Festival, but provides no director, release information, screening date or account of its production. It also briefly references the Milwaukee Art Museum’s return of two jars to Dave the Potter’s descendants. The source does not give further details about the jars, the return process or the museum’s reasoning, so those points cannot be expanded from the material provided.
““What’s the point of all this?””
— René, Bishara’s son, as quoted by Hakim Bishara
Film Details Remain Sparse
The source does not identify the documentary’s director, length, release plans or specific arguments, and it does not explain why Bishara responded as he did. His tears are a reported personal reaction, not evidence of the film’s reception among other festival attendees. The essay also gives no screening date beyond placing it at the New York Film Festival.
Further details about the Milwaukee Art Museum’s return of Dave the Potter’s jars are absent, including when the return occurred and how the descendants’ connection to the objects was established. The source also does not specify when the essay was published. These gaps limit what can be stated about the film, the museum decision and the timing of the events.
No Further Screening Details Given
The provided material does not announce another screening, distribution plan or follow-up report about Between Worlds. It also gives no scheduled next step in the return of the jars. Readers seeking screening or release information will need a separate announcement from the festival, filmmakers or distributor; any later information about the museum’s return would need to come from the museum or the descendants.
Key Questions
What is Between Worlds?
Hyperallergic identifies it as an Edward Said documentary screened at the New York Film Festival. The source does not provide further film credits or a description of its subject matter.
Who wrote the essay?
Hakim Bishara, Hyperallergic’s editor-in-chief, wrote the first-person account.
What does the essay say about the screening?
Bishara says he cried repeatedly during the film. He does not describe the documentary’s scenes or explain exactly what prompted his reaction.
What happened to Dave the Potter’s jars?
The essay says the Milwaukee Art Museum returned two jars to descendants of Dave the Potter, a Black American artist who was enslaved for much of his life in the 19th century. It provides no further details about the return.
Source: rss
