SEE Change (Women Directed) Community Collaboration Documentary Nov 12, 6:30 pm

Bye Bye Tiberias

Women Directed

Dir. Lina Soualem France, Belgium, Qatar, Palestine 82 min

2023 Women Make Movies

In French and Arabic with English subtitles

In her early twenties, Hiam Abbass (Succession, Ramy, Blade Runner 2049) left her native Palestinian village to follow her dream of becoming an actress in Europe, leaving behind her mother, grandmother, and seven sisters. Thirty years later, her filmmaker daughter Lina returns with her to the village and questions for the first time her mother's bold choices, her chosen exile and the way the women in their family influenced both their lives. Set between past and present, Bye Bye Tiberias pieces together images of today, family footage from the nineties, and historical archives to portray four generations of daring Palestinian women who keep their story and legacy alive through the strength of their bonds despite exile, dispossession, and heartbreak.

Join us for a collaborative screening of Bye Bye Tiberias presented with the Nebraska Palestinian Rights Task Force, followed by a panel discussion where audience members can lend an ear to fellow community members as they share their own stories of Palestine and life beyond its borders.

Please note: This screening event and post-film discussion will focus on the art of the film, the themes it brings up, and the personal connections of local community members to those themes.

Discussion Moderator

Dr. Ferial Pearson

Dr. Pearson - aka Mama Beast - is a mother, activist, author, educator, speaker, poet, comedian, cook, sourdough artist, and citizen of the world. She founded the Secret Kindness Agents Project and is an Assistant Professor of Teacher Education. She has been teaching humans of all ages for 24 years in the Omaha area. As a Kenyan Indian Muslim immigrant queer disabled woman of color, she is passionate about working towards Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility, and Kindness. She has received national and local awards for her work in education and social justice, has authored two books, and has been featured as a speaker on the TEDx Omaha stage. Her Secret Kindness Agents Project has been featured at Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation, Hallmark, Parents Magazine, Learning for Justice website and magazine, Midwest Living Magazine, and more. Her goal is to make sure you know that you are loved and that you are enough just the way you are. She lives in Omaha with her family.

Discussion Panelist

Hannah Zaher Serhan

Hannah Zaher Serhan, the granddaughter of Nakba survivors, was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska to Palestinian parents. Now in her Senior year at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, she is pursuing a degree in Architectural Engineering. As the VicePresident of the university's Students for Justice in Palestine chapter, Hannah is deeply committed to the cause of Palestinian freedom and dreams of one day setting foot in a liberated Palestine.

Discussion Panelist

Abed Raja Serhan

Abed Raja Serhan, a Palestinian citizen before 1948, and a Palestinian refugee from that date until now. Born in 1941 in Saffourieh, seven km north-west of Nazareth city, in Aljalil. His father was a farmer, and his mother helped him, and helped her father at a religious school called Katateeb for children less than five years old. Because of a long war between Palestinian and Jewish armed groups supported by British mandate, his family, like other Palestinian families, were forced to immigrate in 1948 (Nakbah) to Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria and other Arab countries. His family arrived on foot to the South of Lebanon, then moved to the East, North, and last of all stayed at Ein-ElHilweh camp close to Saida city in Southern Lebanon. After immigration, Palestinians have great importance to education to help them to live and survive. He finished elementary and middle grades at UNRWA schools and higher education and university levels at private schools and universities in Lebanon and USA. He earned a PhD in History, and a Master of Arts in Leadership. He worked as a Mathematics and history teacher for 32 years (1961-1993) and as a superintendent for 8 years (1993-2001) in UNRWA schools before retiring in 2001.

Discussion Panelist

Dana Fayez El-Hajjar

Dana Fayez El-Hajjar is the daughter of Palestinian refugees. Her father was forced to evacuate his home in Suhmata, Palestine at the age of 4 on foot to Lebanon with only what they could carry on their backs. In Lebanon he lived in a Palestinian refugee camp for most of his young life where he met her mom and got married. Dana immigrated to the United States in 1995 and got her Bachelor’s and MBA degree at the University of Nebraska-Omaha and currently works at UNMC. Growing up she had a refugee status travel document that made it very difficult to travel and was never allowed to enter the occupied Palestinian lands to see her parents home. She hopes that one day her three kids would be able to see their grandparents land. She dreams that one day all the apartheid walls in Palestine will fall and people can live in dignity and peace with equal rights for all. “A watermelon has many seeds. Each seed will produce many beautiful fruits”.