Like an Event in a Dream Dreamt by Another—Insomnia

In this film by Palestinian artist Firas Shehadeh, Palestinian players modify the software of a role-playing video game to spark acts of resistance and imagine new worlds. They do so not as a means of escape, but as a form of survival: “This is my game, this is my land,” they affirm. The viewer is confronted with a striking parallel between Palestine’s current reality and the virtually constructed world. The voice-over accompanying the game’s protagonist weaves together historical references that draw an analogy between Israeli colonialism and the colonial enterprise that shaped the founding of the United States, alongside a narration on the current situation in Gaza: a live-streamed genocide. The film was commissioned by the 14th Mercosur Biennial, Porto Alegre (2025).