An essential document of a moment in time for a story very much still unfolding, The Encampments is a thorough, engrossing portrait of the Gaza Solidarity Encampment. Beginning in April 2024, the protest was formed by Columbia University students who called for their university to divest from U.S. and Israeli weapons companies that are aiding in the deaths of thousands upon thousands of Palestinian people. Following an opening weekend that resulted in the highest-grossing per-theater average for a documentary in history, Michael T. Workman and Kei Pritsker’s film is now playing in theaters nationwide.
As I said in my review, “With insights from those most directly involved in the protests––including many now fearing for their safety and future as America’s newly instated fascist regime continues to strip rights––the documentary becomes a sobering, infuriating look at the dismantling of free speech and nefarious, calculated ways those in power will go to any lengths to silence those that are of opposing interests. Rather than employing a bleak view of persistent struggle, directors Michael T. Workman and Kei Pritsker find the unfolding story’s hope and inspiration, crafting a powerful, clarifying portrait of collective action. As other universities and organizations drew inspiration, we witness how small acts of courage can cause ripple effects worldwide.”
I had the opportunity to speak with Pritsker about being trusted to film from inside the encampment, why it was important to show a side that mainstream media wasn’t portraying, inviting those with opposing views to watch the film and judge for themselves, the corporatization of universities, fast-tracking the theatrical release, and dedicating his life to the Palestinian struggle.
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The Film Stage: You were one of the only journalists trusted by the organizer to get footage inside the encampment. What was that experience like, and how difficult was the editing process with all the footage you had?
Kei Pritsker: Yes, we got access that I think a lot of other people didn’t. And I would say the main reason for that is that a) I had already been covering the Columbia Palestine protests for a while. The first protest I went to was in November of 2023, and there was an alumni protest where they were protesting the banning of SJP [Students for Justice in Palestine] and JVP [Jewish Voice for Peace], which you see at the very beginning of the film. So I was only in touch with them and they knew me. But I think also another reason is because they’re familiar with my reporting, which is openly pro-Palestine. I don’t hide the fact that I support Palestine. My journalism is in support of Palestine. And I’ve been part of the Palestine movement for ten years now.
I think a lot of other journalists take this attitude that they want to separate their journalism from their activism or they draw a line between the two. But at BreakThrough News, where I’m a journalist, we embrace that because we feel that all storytelling has a perspective. No matter who you are, no matter what you’re reporting for, you’re always bringing a certain narrative or a certain perspective on an issue. And we just choose to be very forthcoming about where we’re coming from. And I would say, further, that we feel that so much of the media coverage in the United States is biased. It tells Israel’s side of the story; it never tells Palestine’s side of the story. So we felt like this film was actually, by openly sending a pro-Palestine message, that we were balancing out the playing field a little bit. So we feel that. And as far as the editing process, I mean, there was a ton of footage. I actually don’t want to speak to this too much because my other co-director [Michael T. Workman], he was the main editor, and he did an incredible job at it.
While you do touch on the history of the Palestinian struggle, the film is really an immersive, on-the-ground portrait of collective action. Was that always your version– to tell a very direct portrait more about the students vs. weigh in heavily on specifics of the struggle in Gaza?
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, we felt like it was really important that the students tell the story for themselves and that it come from the students in their own words, and that we show what the encampment was like, not try to explain or tell people what it was. We wanted to show it through the footage. And the reason that was so important to us was because when I was there, I was living in the encampment. I would see all these pundits in the media talking about how Columbia, “It’s this den of anti-semitism. If you’re Jewish and you show up, you’re going to get spit on, they’re going to say slurs at you.” And I would look up and I’d see like a Passover Seder happening in front of me. I’d be like, “This is complete nonsense.”
So instead of trying to tell people, “Oh, it wasn’t anti-semitic. Oh, you know, Jews were welcome.” We just [thought], “Okay, we’re going to show that, instead of saying, ‘No, Mahmoud and the other students, they’re not haters. They’re not bigots. Like, they’re actually great people.’” We just chose: let’s just interview them and let’s just show what they were doing in the camp. Let’s just show what kind of people decided to come and decided to support the encampment. So it was really important to us that the film––that the story of the encampments––were told through the encampments and not from a third-party outside view.
There’s a line in the film about how the organizers’ goal is really one of internationalism and to find peace and healing. For people who might be on the opposing side of the protesters, what would you say to them to invite them to watch your film?
We stand by everything that’s in the film. And to anyone who doesn’t agree or who thinks the students were violent or that they were bigoted or anti-semitic or anything, we encourage you to watch the film. We would like for you to watch the film. We think that you are being lied to. We think you’re being told who the students are. We think you’re being told what the encampments were by people who weren’t there––and we were there. We had some of the most intimate access to the encampments. And those are just the facts.
So if you watch it and you still have problems, you can reach out to me directly. I have no problem taking questions about this. We encourage you to challenge your own preconceived notions about the encampments, and we encourage you to watch the film and make up your own mind. That’s it. We don’t want to tell you what to think. We don’t want to impose our beliefs on you. Just watch it and decide for yourself.
One of the most striking points of the documentary is that universities and these foundations that should be for the betterment of humanity and for free thought and critical thinking––you see just how far right-wing, conservative talking points have seeped into these institutions. Was it shocking at all to see the interview with the anonymous person from Columbia? Then obviously you can just see on the ground, in the faces, as they show the new restrictions for protesters, you can see they don’t maybe fully even believe it themselves when they’re sharing those points. What was it like experiencing that, and can you speak to how universities should be acting in the future?
I mean, first of all, I’ll say universities are for learning. They’re not investment vehicles; they’re not hedge funds. They’re for learning. And the fact that Columbia’s so obsessed with its endowment and its profit to the point where it’s investing in companies that are complicit in war crimes, I think, just shows how far divorced higher education has become from the root of education. I would also point out that Columbia, in its core curriculum, celebrates the 1968 protest against Jim Crow and against segregation. It celebrates the 1985 protest against South African apartheid and says, “This is what Columbia is all about. Come to Columbia and you can be like these students. Come to Columbia and be part of history.” Well, history is happening now also. And Columbia’s having the same response it did back in those days. They encouraged their students to be critical, to analyze systems of power and abuses of power. They challenge their students to be forward-thinking and then when they actually try to do it in real time, they’re punished.
As for the penalties and all the new measures that Columbia has basically implemented: am I surprised? Not entirely. Not really. Because throughout this whole process, Columbia has shown that its priority is its donors, its endowment, its money. In the film Mahmoud says something very pertinent. He says, “We were giving Columbia a gift. We were giving them the opportunity to be a moral university, to divest from investments that they will surely come to regret in a few years.” So we were giving them the chance to do it. And instead, what did they do? They arrested their own students. They expelled them, suspended them. They made it as hard as possible for journalists to get in to cover the activities of their students, and now they’re actually trying to ban protests entirely.
So all Columbia’s really shown over this whole process is that they are far more concerned with what their donors are telling them, what the board of trustees is telling them. Ultimately, this is not surprising to me because the corporatization of higher education, which Columbia is the perfect example of, is really what this film is about. It is a film about Palestine, but it’s also about how corporations control the most important institutions in our society. Because they’re paying Columbia’s bills––because they are also paying the bills of our politicians and funding their campaigns––so many of the critical institutions in this country are complicit or have to basically pay homage to or sort of do the bidding of corporate donors. So Columbia is no different in that. So I’m not surprised at all. They’re doing exactly what the corporation wants them to do.
We’ve seen what has happened to Mahmoud Khalil and even Grant Miner being expelled. With the Trump administration cracking down on anyone involved in pro-Palestine protests, was there any fear in giving those in Columbia and across the country a more prominent spotlight?
Yes, the safety of the students was among our highest priorities. We went through every step we could to basically protect the identities of people who are at risk. First thing being anyone who spoke in the film at all signed a release and agreed to be part of the film. And we came back to them after Trump got elected, after his deportation campaign. We said, “Are you sure you still want to be a part of this?” We did that with everyone who spoke. And then on top of that, we also have been reached out to by several Palestinian groups in New York City, reaching out with concerns after Trump started his deportation campaign, saying, “So-and-so appears in the film. They’re on a student visa. Can you please blur out their face?” So we’ve been blurring faces. We’ve been outright cutting people from the film up until literally yesterday, up until literally the day of the film’s release. So we really are trying to go above and beyond. We do not want this to be the reason anyone gets hurt or in trouble or anything like that.
But I would also just want to point out: Columbia’s campus was probably the most videographed, photographed square mile on planet Earth for, like, two weeks. We also want to remind people that there is a lot of footage out there of the encampment that we don’t control. And there are so many videos that we can’t blur on YouTube, on TV, on all these places. The footage we’re bringing forward, we would also say is kind of a drop in the ocean of everything that was filmed there.
Can you talk about the decision to fast-track the release right after its festival world premiere? Obviously it’s paid off and people are really wanting to see it. How involved were you in that decision and what was it like talking with the distributor? And how quickly did you finish a cut and premiere it, and then show it in theaters?
So our final cut was ready in early February, and we submitted it to CPH:DOX and so it was ready to go by the time Mahmoud was taken. When Mahmoud was abducted, it was unanimous. It was a pretty short conversation. From the get-go, our goal was always to make the biggest political impact. We are all people that cared deeply, deeply, have been working in the Palestine movement for years, so our goal was always to tell the real story of encampments to debunk the lies that the Trump administration and the Biden administration were also telling about the encampments.
And when Mahmoud was taken, that was obviously the moment to release it, because now the lies about the encampments were actually being weaponized. They were actually serving as the logical foundation of this deportation campaign, that anyone that participated in an encampment that’s on a student visa should be deported. These lies about the encampments were the justifying reason given by the administration for that. And we just happened to be sitting on a film that completely contradicted those things. So we felt the responsibility, quite frankly, to put it out.
Setting the record for opening weekend theater average for a documentary is pretty incredible. When did you realize that was going to happen? What has been your mindset the past week, and what do you hope, as the film expands wide, how people receive it?
I mean, quite frankly, it’s been a total whirlwind. The reception was so tremendous. I don’t think any of us really expected it. I have been doing Q&As all week, and I haven’t been in a single Q&A theater yet that hasn’t been sold out. We’re incredibly grateful to the movement, to all of our supporters who have just been promoting the film. I think the reason it’s so successful is because obviously there’s the timing aspect––there’s no doubt about that. But I also think it’s just the bravery and the commitment of the students that you see in the film. It’s not just that it’s debunking the lies about who Mahmoud is, and it tells his story in his own words.
It’s also that we’ve been told that really all these “kids”––they’re so infantilized; they’re talked about like children––and they say, “Oh, you know, these dumb kids, they just they want to look edgy. They just want to seem cool to their friends and they don’t know what they’re talking about. They just don’t want to go to class.” And when you actually see the fanatical devotion and the unwavering commitment to the Palestinian cause. When you hear them talk about the genocide, talk about the investments. When you hear them say, “We don’t care what happens to us. We don’t care if we fail our finals. We don’t care if you suspend us. We don’t care if you arrest us. The only thing we care about is stopping the genocide in Gaza.”
It makes you realize these are not children. These are not immature edgelords. These are not people trying to be cool. These are people who have an unbelievable commitment to the truth, to justice, and to peace. So I think it’s the movement as a whole that really maybe surprised people, to see how organized and how talented and how smart and articulate and how brave these students really were.
It’s remarkable that this is your directorial debut. What did you most learn from this process, and do you foresee continuing this path of journalistic documentaries or do you have other ambitions?
I did not get into this to be a filmmaker, to be a director. I just happened to have this footage and felt this was the most effective medium to convey it. I do this all for Palestine. I don’t do this for any other reason. I do this because when I was 18 I saw a video of Operation Cast Lead happening in Gaza and I was heartbroken. I was shocked that the world could watch and let these crimes unfold in front of everyone. As far as being a director, I’m still learning. I’m still learning the most basic things about the industry. People make fun of me. They sort of poke fun at me for not even watching movies, really. There are many classics I have yet to make it to.
Of course, I’m open to it if there’s another big story. If I find myself thrown into another historical moment, absolutely––I would love to make another film. I’m just so blessed to have been able to work with Michael Workman. He really is such an artistic visionary. And the way he even talks about film, the way he understands it and thinks about it, helped me see film in a completely different way. So I want to give him all due credit for so much of the vision and the artistry in this. I’m just going to keep talking about Palestine. I’m going to keep talking about the issues. I’m going to keep talking about all the corruption in the world. And if that takes the form of another film, then so be it.
The Encampments is now in theaters nationwide.