Chronicles of a Refugee is a 6-part documentary series looking at the global Palestinian refugee experience over the last 60 years. Filmed in over 15 countries, with more than 250 interviews of Palestinian refugees who have lived in over 25 countries, the series aims to provoke debate concerning strategy and asks: ‘What makes the most sense for a strategy to achieve Palestinian rights as part of a vibrant and viable Palestinian national movement?’

Setting up the historical framework for the series, The Nakba Dailies recounts the events of 1947-48 in Palestine as experienced by those who lived them and explores how the Palestinian refugee issue was created.

The Daily Nakbas documents the repeated expulsions of Palestinians from various countries and refugee camps around the world since 1967 until today and explores their impact on a community under constant threat of being made refugees a second, third or fourth time.

Homeland Without ID looks at official discrimination against Palestinians in both the Arab and Western contexts and details how host governments treat Palestinians not from a rights perspective, but primarily from a “security” perspective.

Q&A with director Perla Issa

Given sixty years of dispossession and refugee status, what does it mean to be Palestinian today? Grounded in the experiences of refugees themselves, this episode examines taboo subjects such as the role played by camps in contemporary society, the necessity (or lack thereof) of citizenship, and the impact of decisions made by those who will never be forced to live their consequences.

The Talk of Return looks at the issue of right of return in terms of what has been done to achieve it over the years. Through interviews and archival footage, the episode explores the work of the PLO and various civil society organizations in the past, while also looking at how refugees today are responding to the lack of institutional progress on the issue.

The Return of Talk explores the relationship of leadership and representation among Palestinians, notably Palestinian refugees worldwide.  Providing both historical context and debate over future strategy the film is a comprehensive look at the meaning of political leadership for a people facing exile, occupation and ongoing dispossession.  Given the importance of the 60th anniversary of the Nakba, this episode is a timely documentation, combing grassroots, activist and elite perspectives on the history and strategy of the Palestinian national movement.

Adam Shapiro is a documentary filmmaker, human rights activist and Palestinian rights activist.  Currently he is filming a documentary on Palestinian refugees all over the world to be released in time for the 60th anniversary of al-Nakba.  He is also working with a colleague in an independent effort to help find durable solutions for the Palestinian refugees of Iraq.  He last served as Country Director in Afghanistan for the international human rights organization Global Rights.  Adam is a Ph.D. candidate in International Relations at American University, and holds a MA in Politics from New York University and a MA in Arab Studies from Georgetown University.  He is a founding member of InCounter Productions which produced the award-winning documentary film, 'About Baghdad' (Spring 2004).  He has also directed and produced 'darfur diaries: message from home' (Fall 2005), 'becoming nadya' (short film, 2007) and is currently working on 'Kabul Dolls' (2009).  His films have screened at film festivals all over the world and have been broadcast on television in the Middle East, Europe and the US.  Adam is co-author of the book, "darfur diaries: stories of survival" (Nation Books).  In Palestine, Adam was a co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement and lived and worked in the Occupied Palestinian Territories for three years.  He serves on the Advisory Board of UMMA, and was named an Honorary Veteran for Peace in 2002.

Perla Issa is a documentary filmmaker and human rights activist based in Beirut, Lebanon.  She has volunteered with the ISM in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and with Samidoun in Lebanon during the 2006 summer war.  She has worked on the documentary series “Arabs and Terrorism” (2007), and has produced short films on displaced refugees from Nahr El-Bared.  Perla has also volunteered teaching in the Shatila refugee camp in Beirut.  She holds a MA in Arab Studies from Georgetown University and a MA in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).  Perla is a Palestinian refugee.

Aseel Mansour is an award winning Palestinian filmmaker and photographer currently living and working in Dubai at Microsoft.  He has directed and produced a number of short films and has been selected to attend international film institutes on account of his work.  Aseel holds a BS degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Jordan