IDFA x De Balie: Edward Said: Between Worlds

As a professor at Columbia University, virtuoso pianist and incisive critic Edward Said operated at the very heart of the academic world. Yet from his birth in Jerusalem in 1935 to his death in New York in 2003, the Palestinian-American thinker remained a rootless outsider. No one deconstructed the Western gaze on the Middle East like Said did. He challenged world leaders, exposed dehumanizing language, and tirelessly spoke out against injustice.

Director Maiken Baird interweaves family films, television debates, and interviews to form a portrait of Said and his homeland. Said’s personal journey is inseparable from the history of Palestine, from his childhood in Jerusalem and the trauma of the Nakba in 1948 to his groundbreaking books on Orientalism and the Palestinian cause.

Edward Said: Between Worlds brings the voice of one of the 20th century’s most influential thinkers back to life. It is a compelling profile of a man who lived between two worlds and whose incisive insights at the intersection of culture, politics, and identity remain as relevant today as ever.

IDFA x De Balie
De Balie has selected six of the best films featured at IDFA. Documentaries on a wide range of subjects, that share a common thread: they are auteur-driven works, created with a distinct artistic vision. Films that use the camera as a tool of expression, rather than mere registration. Join us after each screening for a conversation hosted by De Balie, with filmmakers and notable guests.