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Virtual World Film Premier: ‘LAND OF CANAAN’ 5/23/26

Dear friends of peace with justice in Palestine,

This Saturday, May 23, 2026, the Palestine Museum US will screen the virtual world premier of the feature documentary Land of Canaan (2026) by Maggie Lemere. At a time when Palestine faces erasure and genocide, it is vital to celebrate and protect the rich cultural heritage of this ancient place. 

The screening will start at 12:00 Noon US EDT; 18:00 Europe; 17:00 UK; 19:00 Palestine, running time, 84 minutes, documentary, 2026, English, and Arabic with English subtitles. The film screening will be followed by a discussion with the film director Maggie Lemere and Nasser Abufarha, founder and director of Canaan Palestine.

SynopsisLand of Canaan is a feature documentary and cinematic environmental meditation that immerses viewers in the lives of and relationships between Palestinian farmers and their thousands-of-years-old olive trees in the West Bank, Palestine. At its center is Dr. Nasser Abufarha, a Palestinian-American entrepreneur who returns to the West Bank and, finding the olive heritage in crisis, leads a movement to preserve an ecosystem and generations of ecological knowledge while helping build one of Palestine’s most influential fair-trade networks. In a time when land, culture, and livelihood face erasure, Land of Canaan bears witness to what is at stake — and why it must be protected.

Please click here to watch the film trailer: https://landofcanaanfilm.com/

Please click here to register to view the film: https://www.palestinemuseum.us/events/2026/canaan?mc_cid=e5dfe4195d


BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY at Ely Film Festival

BEST DOCUMENTARY at Arizona International Film Festival

BEST DOCUMENTARY ON CURRENT AFFAIRS at Rai Trento Award

Maggie Lemere is a filmmaker, oral historian, and National Geographic Explorer whose work explores relationships between people and the environment. She has worked globally as a researcher, trainer, and storytelling strategist, and edited Nowhere to Be Home: Narratives from Survivors of Burma’s Military Regime (2011), later translated into Burmese. She is currently directing projects including Vs. Goliath, a series following frontline communities resisting fossil fuel industries and envisioning more just futures. Maggie co-founded Rhiza Collective, is a member of Tikkun Olam Productions, and works as an oral historian with the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

Dr. Nasser Abufarha is the founder of Palestine Fair Trade Association and Canaan Palestine, connecting over 2,000 small-scale Palestinian farming families to global markets through fair trade and organic olive oil. Raised among the olive groves of Jenin, he earned a PhD in Anthropology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, focusing on culture, land, and resistance. Through his work, he has helped bring Palestinian olive oil to international recognition while supporting rural livelihoods, women’s cooperatives, and educational initiatives. His efforts center on strengthening communities, sustaining traditional agricultural practices, and building economic resilience rooted in cultural heritage. He continues to advocate for fair trade and environmental stewardship on an international stage. He is also the author of “The Making of a Human Bomb: An Ethnography of Palestinian Resistance” by Duke University Press and “The Alternative Palestinian Agenda: A Proposal for Bi-National Solution in Palestine.”


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In gratitude,

Christa Bruhn