Film Screening: Coexistence, My Ass!
Wednesday, February 4, 2026
Wolfensohn Hall | 4:00 p.m.
Run time: 95 minutes

This film screening is curated by Sabine Schmidtke, Professor in the School of Historical Studies and Amy Elizabeth Singer, Patricia Crone Member in the School.

Noam Shuster-Eliassi, an Israeli freelance comedian and activist raised by an Iranian-Jewish mother and a Romanian-Jewish father, grew up in Neve Shalom Wahat Al Salam ("Oasis of Peace"), a community where Jews and Palestinians live together by choice. Having heard about Shuster-Eliassi's humor, the Harvard Divinity School provided her with a fellowship at its Religion, Conflict, and Peace Initiative. There, she developed a one-woman show in Hebrew, English, and Arabic titled "Coexistence, My Ass."

Lebanese-Canadian documentary film director Amber Fares followed Shuster-Eliassi to Harvard to film the documentary, which incorporates Shuster-Eliassi’s stand-up routine. Shot between 2019 and 2024, the film incorporates the escalation of violence surrounding Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories after October 7. The film was presented with a World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Freedom of Expression at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and is nominated in the 2026 Academy Awards, among other recognitions.

Assistive listening devices are available on site. Please see a member of our staff should you wish to use one during the event.

Register below to attend.