DeenaOH

Some of the ways we honored my Palestinian heritage at our wedding: (Part 1) Tatreez Cake: made by local Palestinian baker @sweetnesshm (it’s a tradition to scream when we cut a cake 😂) Palestinian Chef Amanny Ahmad @lalph_rauren Tatreez Table Numbers and Designs @fellahaart Henna by @samarashhadeh Ancestor table with Palestinian food and @canaan.palestine olive oil ❤️🖤💚 Palestinian musicians @clarissabitar & @laraaburamadan I’ve been so lucky to grow up with the rich and generous Palestinian culture. My mom, Magida Hadid Hyatt, she was a vibrant, passionate woman who hid being Palestinian in America a lot. I often wouldn’t mention it either, for fear of the reaction and having to get into it. Or— even worse— due to erasure— people having no idea who Palestinians are— what it means to be Palestinian. My Teta and Jedo were so traumatized from being violently expelled in 48, they didn’t want to talk about it. Towards the end, my mom stopped giving a F and spoke out more and more. She would have been amazed at how far we’ve come and how many more people are aware now of our culture, and our struggle and persecution. She would also be devastated but I’m not gonna focus that now. To be honest, it was really such a hole in my heart to not have my mom there. I felt kinda lost planning it without her. I was so lucky to have my brother who helped immensely but other than that I was pretty weirdly in mourning about not having my mom while I envisioned my wedding. And I didn’t know how to ask for help. I’m grateful also to my friends and fam who stepped up, and there’s another post about the Henna — a Palestinian tradition that my Palestinian friends encouraged me to do and that was such a special experience. We need to remember and enjoy our joy. I’ve learned a lot from other people going through a fight for liberation. One thing I keep holding dear is that our food, our music, our dance, our culture, our style, our artistry (like tatreez), our generosity, our sense of humor- no one can take these things away we won’t let them. Those ancestral blessings, we hold them dear and joy fuels our strength and resilience.

Thank you @mizna_arabart @soniaalizghoul @lanabarkawi @elinatkatrin for bringing together these incredible people speaking up and speaking out for Liberation, and to @2220arts for hosting. Our hearts are constantly breaking and we are in constant repair so we can keep hope alive and stand strong. So so grateful and honored to share this space with these fierce ones: @safiamafia @rajarrar @sssaritahh @abugoddess @chemaha1 @phonodelica @mecaforpeace With love and rage and grace and persistence and bravery and honor❤️‍🔥💚🖤🏹 Photos by @kostapotamianos Last two @elinatkatrin

The face of 39, soon to be 40. 👑 I almost didn’t share my age for many reasons — but you know what, maybe it’s cool. Forget that stigma. I feel better than I did in my 20s. Older, wiser, hotter. 💕 "Life really does begin at 40, till then you are just doing research.” Carl Jung 📸 @sasha.m.sheldon 🥳

Chicago, thank you for such a beautiful night. So many thoughtful conversations, and a room that felt deeply connected to the film from beginning to end.

@landofcanaanfilm is now translated into Italian! Graci! thank you @trentofilmfestival you stole our hearts ❤️ Our film won the Rai Trento Award: Best Documentary on Current Affairs! 😘 Some of you may know I’m on the Land Of Canaan core team and soooo excited our film is out there. Directed by @maggie_lemere — the film is an intimate environmental portrait of olive trees and the farmers that tend to them @canaan.palestine . It’s a love letter to P@lest 👁️ne and these magnificent trees that represent heritage, resistance and thousands of years of ecological knowledge. This is just the beginning of our journey as we bring these farmers stories to world. Please follow the film @landofcanaanfilm and DM me/us if you want to get involved in any way. More soon, With love

🎬 Maggie Lemere e Deena Falconetti, rispettivamente regista e co-produttrice del documentario Land of Canaan, ci spiegano come l’opera sia nata dal desiderio di mostrare la Palestina attraverso una lente diversa, focalizzandosi sul profondo legame ancestrale tra la popolazione e gli ulivi millenari. 🌱 Il film evita la narrazione convenzionale del conflitto per celebrare invece l’imprenditorialità locale, la giustizia ambientale e la vita quotidiana di una comunità che custodisce la propria terra. Attraverso l’uso della storia orale, la produzione mira a restituire dignità e umanità a un popolo spesso deumanizzato. L’obiettivo finale delle cineaste è ispirare una cultura di rispetto e amore verso il mondo naturale e le tradizioni ereditate dalle generazioni passate. @maggie_lemere @deenaoh @landofcanaanfilm ✍️@colibrianaa 🎥 @annamaines_ph @_martino_barbiero @carlivaleriaa #LandOfCanaan #Palestina #Cultura #Trentofilmfestival #74trentofilmfestival

Chicago, that was special. Our screening at the @chipalfilmfest (Chicago Palestine Film Festival) was completely sold out, with a full room that stayed with the film all the way through. The audience was present, attentive, and deeply connected to the story. You could feel it in the tears that filled the room. This is a community that has been carrying these stories for a long time, and the festival is part of that ongoing work. We’re grateful for the space they continue to create for Palestinian storytelling to live and be seen. We are really thankful we got to share this moment together, with a community that already lives, and continues to carry these stories.

“They cut down 10 trees, we plant a thousand.” - Abu Kamal This Earth Day, we honor Palestine’s environmental guardians: the farmers, land stewards, and knowledge keepers — and continue elevating their stories. Under the threat of erasure and ecocide, Land of Canaan documents a way of life, showing what is at stake and why it must be protected. In a time of dispossession, uplifting these ecologies of care is not symbolic, but necessary. Support these farmers. Amplify their voices. 🎬 Donate to support the film & plant a tree in Palestine 🌿 🔗 link in bio, all donations are tax deductible 🎼 Composer @katharine.p #earthday

Today, March 30, marks the 50-year anniversary of Land Day—a historic moment of Palestinian resistance to land confiscation. Today, we remember what we are protecting: the beauty of Palestine, the hands and hearts that nurture it, and the seeds of hope for future generations. Our film Land of Canaan honors Palestinians’ deep connection to the land, their resilience in the face of dispossession, and their ongoing struggle for self-determination. Your support helps amplify the stories of these olive farmers. Donations of $200 or more will plant a tree in Palestine through Canaan’s Trees of Life Program. Many of the olive trees featured in the film are more than 1,000 years old, rooted in regenerative, biodiversity-rich ecosystems shaped by generations of traditional knowledge. By honoring these practices, Land of Canaan presents agriculture as both resistance and future-building—showing how food sovereignty, environmental stewardship, and cultural preservation are inseparable. Link in bio to donate 💚 🌱 Donations are tax deductible. Any amount of support is appreciated. #landday

Dancing with my selves. Excited to be joining a new interdisciplinary, interdimensional performing arts space in Bushwick @supr_omen - more on that soon. In the meantime…… I’m so out of practice but I’m so back ✨ #freestyle #danceeveryday

A decade ago 2016 my mom was still alive. She had been diagnosed with cancer and was fighting for her life but still managed to muster up mischievousness and find joy. It’s still so weird that she’s not here. When I was leaving Christmas Day dinner at Jérémy’s grandma’s I suddenly starting sobbing in the back of his mom’s car. I knew that because it “came out of no where,” it was a sudden onslaught of grief that I didn’t intend to conjure up. I hadn’t been looking through old photos or anything like that, it just took over. As they say, it comes in waves and you never know when it’ll hit. I cried, and Jérémy knew exactly why and his mom asked in French why I was sad and I was able to say “Ma mère me manque beaucoup” — which literally means “my mother is missing to me.” You don’t say “Je me manque ma mére” (I’m missing my mom.) It’s interesting to think it’s actually more like my mother is missing to me. But she’s not missing *in* me. 🤍Magida Daher Hadid Hyatt : let her not be forgotten.

In the spot light is @deenaoh #mamiyarz67 #mamiya #kodakportra400film #filmisnotdead #shootfilm #filmphotograph