The Stage 32 Videos: Refaat Alareer
If I must die - A Reading
I present to you If I must die - A Reading, a 3D animated short film I’ve worked on since the end of 2023, a short time after the start of the genocide in Gaza.
By the end of October, I had begun to realize that I needed a therapeutic outlet to process my anger, grief, and frustration over the sensation of powerlessness against this genocide. I decided to animate my own interpretation of If I must die (2014), a poem written by the late Palestinian professor Dr. Refaat Alareer that “went viral” after he and several family members were martyred in the first week of December, in dedication to Refaat and the Palestinian people. For me, this animation was a form of art therapy—it was, and is, healing for me as I grapple with the atrocities inflicted upon Palestine by the Israeli occupation with the full support of the United States government. I am privileged, as an American, to be alive and apart from this genocide; and so, I can not stand idly by while the leaders of my nation continue in their complicity and abetment.
Refaat wrote If I must die during a difficult, decades-long period of Israeli occupation as a message of encouragement to his daughter, Shaimaa, and her Jewish friend, Viola, to continue their fight for a free Palestine. I interpret If I must die as a call for hope amidst silenced voices in the face of annihilation: defiance, resistance, and endurance not only to survive but to thrive with prosperity and joy.
Vincent Valdez’s painting #10 of his collection The Beginning is Near, Part II: Dream Baby Dream (2018), a solemn portrait of a hijabi woman in a state of grief, inspired the visual direction of the film. Regarding his work, Vincent has said, “I don't presume that painting can change the world. But, I stand firm in my belief that the artist can still provide critical moments of silence and clarity in times of immense distortion and chaos." I understand that I, alone, can not stop a genocide. Animating will not lead to a ceasefire, nor will the film open the borders to desperately necessary food and aid. What it can do is offer people like me—especially my fellow Americans—a clearer understanding of the Palestinian plight, in the hope of providing momentum for swinging public opinion towards support of Palestine (and the compounding of pressure on public officials to act in accordance with our demands). Even if this is a faint hope, I remain hopeful that, at the end of it all, the film will have done good for someone.
The Romanian collective known as justwondering…, creators of animated essays on topics including environmental and social justice, produced in early 2024 their own audiovisual interpretation of If I must die, a poignant performance that I sampled and used as both the narration and accompanying soundscape of the animated portion of the film. I am grateful for their blessing to adopt their work as a crucial component of my own.
I learned through this project that it does not matter where you are in your art journey. Make art. Pour your heart into it. Do your artwork to speak truth to power without worry over perfection, and both you and your community will be all the better for it.
To Joy, Kathryn, Will, Ayyash, and Anne: This film would not exist without your feedback, guidance, and support. From the depths of my soul, thank you.
To you: I thank you for watching If I must die - A Reading, and I hope it reinvigorates you in our collective efforts against this genocide.
To Palestine: you deserve to live freely with justice and dignity. May the world finally step up and stand up against your oppressors. May Allah guide you and protect you.
And to all:
FREE PALESTINE
–
#freepalestine #palestine #gaza #refaatalareer #ifimustdie #genocide #poetry #reading #animation #3danimation #gameanimation #maya #autodesk #miosha #character #rig #3d #pose #art #animated #animator #12principles #12principlesofanimation #illusionoflife
By the end of October, I had begun to realize that I needed a therapeutic outlet to process my anger, grief, and frustration over the sensation of powerlessness against this genocide. I decided to animate my own interpretation of If I must die (2014), a poem written by the late Palestinian professor Dr. Refaat Alareer that “went viral” after he and several family members were martyred in the first week of December, in dedication to Refaat and the Palestinian people. For me, this animation was a form of art therapy—it was, and is, healing for me as I grapple with the atrocities inflicted upon Palestine by the Israeli occupation with the full support of the United States government. I am privileged, as an American, to be alive and apart from this genocide; and so, I can not stand idly by while the leaders of my nation continue in their complicity and abetment.
Refaat wrote If I must die during a difficult, decades-long period of Israeli occupation as a message of encouragement to his daughter, Shaimaa, and her Jewish friend, Viola, to continue their fight for a free Palestine. I interpret If I must die as a call for hope amidst silenced voices in the face of annihilation: defiance, resistance, and endurance not only to survive but to thrive with prosperity and joy.
Vincent Valdez’s painting #10 of his collection The Beginning is Near, Part II: Dream Baby Dream (2018), a solemn portrait of a hijabi woman in a state of grief, inspired the visual direction of the film. Regarding his work, Vincent has said, “I don't presume that painting can change the world. But, I stand firm in my belief that the artist can still provide critical moments of silence and clarity in times of immense distortion and chaos." I understand that I, alone, can not stop a genocide. Animating will not lead to a ceasefire, nor will the film open the borders to desperately necessary food and aid. What it can do is offer people like me—especially my fellow Americans—a clearer understanding of the Palestinian plight, in the hope of providing momentum for swinging public opinion towards support of Palestine (and the compounding of pressure on public officials to act in accordance with our demands). Even if this is a faint hope, I remain hopeful that, at the end of it all, the film will have done good for someone.
The Romanian collective known as justwondering…, creators of animated essays on topics including environmental and social justice, produced in early 2024 their own audiovisual interpretation of If I must die, a poignant performance that I sampled and used as both the narration and accompanying soundscape of the animated portion of the film. I am grateful for their blessing to adopt their work as a crucial component of my own.
I learned through this project that it does not matter where you are in your art journey. Make art. Pour your heart into it. Do your artwork to speak truth to power without worry over perfection, and both you and your community will be all the better for it.
To Joy, Kathryn, Will, Ayyash, and Anne: This film would not exist without your feedback, guidance, and support. From the depths of my soul, thank you.
To you: I thank you for watching If I must die - A Reading, and I hope it reinvigorates you in our collective efforts against this genocide.
To Palestine: you deserve to live freely with justice and dignity. May the world finally step up and stand up against your oppressors. May Allah guide you and protect you.
And to all:
FREE PALESTINE
–
#freepalestine #palestine #gaza #refaatalareer #ifimustdie #genocide #poetry #reading #animation #3danimation #gameanimation #maya #autodesk #miosha #character #rig #3d #pose #art #animated #animator #12principles #12principlesofanimation #illusionoflife
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