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Film Screening: Bye Bye Tiberias

15 May 2025, 5:30 pm–8:30 pm

section of the Bye Bye Tiberias poster

We are delighted to screen this award-winning documentary, examining the strength of four generations of women in a Palestinian family.

Event Information

Open to

All

Availability

Yes

Organiser

UCL Middle East Research Centre

Location

Archaeology lecture theatre G6
31–34 Gordon Square
London
WC1H 0PY

Bye Bye Tiberias (Arabic: باي باي طبريا, romanized: Bāy Bāy Ṭabariyya) is a 2023 documentary film. It follows Hiam Abbass, who leaves her Palestinian village of Deir Hanna in the Lower Galilee, Israel to pursue her dream of becoming an actress, leaving behind her mother, grandmother, and sisters. Abbass returns to her village, with her daughter, Soulaem, to explore her mother's choices, and family influence. It is a co-production between Palestine, Belgium, France and Qatar. Read more on Wikipedia

  • Directed by: Lina Soualem
  • Produced by: Jean-Marie Nizan
  • Starring: Hiam Abbass
  • Edited by: Gladys Joujou
  • Music by: Amine Bouhafa

The film will be followed by a panel discussion with Yousif Qasmiyeh, a Palestinian poet & scholar (Oxford), Feryal Awan, Lecturer in Media and Postcolonial Studies (UCL) and Aimee Shaalan, head of Makan. We are particularly pleased to be screening this documentary on such a significant date, Nakba Day.

All welcome but please register to attend: https://ucl-byebyetiberias.eventbrite.co.uk

We welcome donations to Makan and Medical Aid for Palestinians

This event has been co-organised by the UCL Centre for Transnational and Global History, the UCL Middle East Research Centre and UCL Social Research Institute. 

About the Speakers

Aimee Shalan

Aimee Shalan is a British-Palestinian based in London and Director of Makan, an independent organisation providing transformative education to strengthen the movement for Palestinian liberation. She is also a member of the Palestinian policy network, Al Shabaka; a trustee of Friends of Birzeit University; and Chair of the British-Palestinian Committee. Her previous roles range from Chief Executive of Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) to Co-founder and Director of Pressure Cooker Arts, a not-for-profit arts and advocacy organisation with a particular focus on creating links with communities in Palestine. Aimee appears regularly on broadcast media and has written for a wide variety of media outlets. She also holds a doctorate in the Politics of Palestinian Literature.

Dr Feryal Awan

Dr Feryal Awan is a Lecturer in Media and Postcolonial Studies at Institute of Education, UCL. Her research interest lies at the intersection of cultural studies and critical childhood studies. She is part of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) organising group which comprises of a collective of UCL staff from a wide range of departments and disciplines who individually commit to the terms of the BDS movement. She is currently writing her first book entitled "Colonised childhoods: Childhood and Children's Media in Palestine" due to be published by UCL Press in June 2026.