Film Matters: Please tell us about your article that is being published in Film Matters.
Ben Werdegar: My article is an analysis of Elia Suleiman’s 2002 film Divine Intervention and the bold statement the film makes about the effects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the people of Palestine. As a filmmaker, Suleiman uses a wide variety of methods to achieve this goal, ranging from the frequent use of stationary shots from a distance, the considerable lack of character dialogue, and mise-en-scene that is frequently loaded with metaphor, just to name a few examples. The film is an act of providing a voice to the voiceless Palestinians by chronicling their struggle and their loss in a somberly artistic fashion.
FM: What research and/or methodologies do you incorporate in your article?
BW: I think it’s difficult to conduct a deep scholarly analysis of a film such as Divine Intervention without first researching and understanding the context in which Suleiman made the film. I think there is something larger to be said here about why people may struggle to resonate with international films as a whole. I began my investigation of this film by first learning about Suleiman and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which I might add is a very complex historical subject. My goal before even trying to analyze the formal cinematic and narrative elements at play in the film was to have a grasp of what has happened to Palestine over the past century or so and how it impacted Palestinians. It’s one thing to understand political deals and land negotiations, but it’s another thing to consider how such actions have impacted real people. I sought to feel the weight of this as much as possible, and I believe that effort contributed greatly to how I read the film. From that point on, I found it imperative to watch the film multiple times. I wanted to really feel the pulse of the film, especially because of how Suleiman creates a shot rhythm and overall speed of the film. It’s one of those films that you continue to notice more and more with every watch, and I wanted to absorb as much of Suleiman’s vision as possible.
FM: Describe the original context for/when writing this article while an undergraduate student.
BW: I began writing this article toward the end of my junior year at Stanford University as a culmination project for a film class on the history of world cinema from 1960 to today. The course covered a large range of different examples of world cinema, and I was particularly drawn to cinema emerging from Palestine. From there I narrowed my focus down to Divine Intervention,one of Elia Suleiman’s films (he has many profound films to choose from) that particularly impacted me when I first watched it.
FM: How has your department and/or institution supported your work in film and media?
BW: Stanford’s Film and Media Studies Department faculty are simply incredible. I had no idea that I would be studying film even after my first year of college, but after trying out a film class in my sophomore year, I was immediately hooked. I have been able to both scholarly analyze films and also creatively learn about scriptwriting. The professors are each so knowledgeable of their respective material that it has inspired me to explore across the board. I have even been able to conduct my own independent research on filmmakers and film movements under the guidance of professors in the department. As a student, I have felt prepared and excited to explore my own interests in film, even if they extend beyond topics that have been covered in classes.
FM: How has your faculty mentor fostered your advancement as a film scholar?
BW: I have to say that I’ve felt a strong connection with many of the faculty in the Film and Media Studies Department, so in that sense I’ve been lucky to feel as though I have more than one faculty mentor. One of the ways I’ve felt that Usha Iyer, who was my faculty mentor for this article, has helped kindle a fire in my aspirations to become a better film student (and potentially scholar) is through assisting me with an independent research project, as I mentioned in the previous question. This was something I approached Professor Iyer about completely out of the blue, and she was very welcoming of my ideas and able to direct me toward the right means of tackling such a project. I think one of the most important things that I’ve learned from my faculty mentors at Stanford is that everything in film is a choice — no matter how small — and those choices are birthed from experimentation and creativity. Believing in this has eased a lot of my fears in discussing and thinking critically about films. Cinema is a very human medium, although it often feels very powerful and solidified. My faculty mentors have really helped open my eyes to the thought that goes into making masterful pieces of cinema.
FM: How has the Film Matters editorial and publication process impacted the development/evolution of your article?
BW: The process of publishing my article in Film Matters has firstly reinvigorated my interest in Suleiman’s Divine Intervention after I moved on to other topics in my film studies in the nine months since I initially completed the article. Returning to the project with another complete year of taking film studies courses has shined a more experienced light on the film for me. Additionally, my points of emphasis and written phrasing have grown stronger because of my own editing process in combination with that of Film Matters. All in all, my analysis, vision, and understanding of the film that I have written about is likely never going to be entirely set in stone. I think going through the publishing process with Film Matters has shown me that even my own analysis and work can continue to be refined, grow larger, or change all for the better.
FM: What audience do you hope to reach with your Film Matters article and/or what impact do you hope it has on the field of film studies?
BW: If even just one person reads my article and understands why Suleiman’s film is so impactful I will be proud. I intended the article for an American audience — particularly a reader who is unfamiliar with cinema beyond Hollywood. I want this article to not only open people’s eyes to the abundance of marvelous cinema that exists all around the world, but also demonstrate just how much a single film can say and mean through cinematic components. My article only gets just below the surface of all that can be said about Divine Intervention. The film is absolutely loaded with significance, and I encourage my readers to watch the film for themselves, as I believe they might find things even I have failed to see so far. I hope that this article contributes to the discussion regarding the categorization and role of filmmakers from Palestine. I want my article to inspire further scholarly work on other films emerging from Palestine. I hope this article will inspire students and scholars alike to continue to think about and present studies on such works to American readers.
FM: What are your future plans?
BW: I graduated from Stanford University in June 2020. I plan on moving to Los Angeles to work for the video game company Electronic Arts in the Music Department. There I will be working with a team responsible for curating soundtracks and orchestrated scores for a variety of games played around the world, such as FIFA, Star Wars, Madden, and Sims. I look forward to pursuing the use of music in regard to this form of media. I will never lose my deep passion for film studies or for the simple pleasure of enjoying films.
Author Biography
Ben Werdegar is a senior majoring in Film and Media Studies at Stanford University and has developed a fascination for the power of music within visual media. Werdegar’s family has both Israeli and Palestinian heritage, which has largely inspired his interest in cinema relating to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
