Foragers at SPACE Films

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Foragers at SPACE

Start: Wednesday, June 18, 2025• 7:00 PM

Location:SPACE Gallery•538 Congress St, Portland, ME 04101 US

Host Contact Info: wil.t.dsa@pm.me

Promotional poster for a showing of the film Foragers by Jumana Manna. It features the film's title prominently, with the Arabic phrase "اليد الخضراء" (meaning "the green hand") and the tagline "When collecting wild plants becomes an act of resistance" positioned above it. The poster specifies the screening location as SPACE FILMS at 538 Congress St., Portland, ME, and the date and time as June 18th, with doors opening at 6:30 PM and the film starting at 7:00 PM. It also notes a $10 entry fee for non-members. The poster acknowledges the event's sponsors, Maine Democratic Socialists of America, Peace Action Maine, and Maine Voices for Palestinian Rights with their logos displayed at the bottom.

dir. Jumana Manna
2022 | 65 min. | $10 | $7 for SPACE or DSA members
In Arabic and Hebrew with English subtitles

Sponsored by Maine DSA, Peace Action Maine, and Maine Voices for Palestinian Rights

Foragers depicts the dramas around the practice of foraging for wild edible plants in Palestine/Israel with wry humor 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 disposses them from their land while the occupation's 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 defenses, 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.

SPACE’s venue and restrooms are ADA compliant, please email info@space538.org to request priority accessibility seating, any accessibility questions, or for ASL interpreter requests (please note booking an interpreter typically needs notice at least one full week before the event).