Support Milk – A Palestinian Film About Survival & Healing

Why Milk?

The title Milk symbolizes nourishment, survival, and resistance—essential to Palestinian womanhood. This film explores the strength of women who carry generational trauma while continuing to nurture, provide, and endure. It is a meditation on their perseverance, the ways they hold onto their identity, and how they navigate loss while sustaining life.

At a time when the refugee experience is more relevant than ever, Milk sheds light on Palestinian women in America—grappling with loss, displacement, and the emotional toll of being uprooted from their homeland.

Story:

Milk is a heartfelt 10-12 minute short film about two Palestinian sisters, May and Fatimah, who escape the devastation of Gaza and seek refuge in America. Working as housekeepers in a rundown hotel, they face the daily struggles of immigrant life.

May, the younger sister, wrestles with a deeply personal challenge: finding privacy to pump breast milk while carrying the emotional burden of her past. As memories of Gaza resurface, she confronts her trauma, revealing the resilience and strength of Palestinian mothers navigating life in exile.

Timeline:

We are planning to shoot this short film in Chicago during the fall of this year with a dedicated and diverse team. The filming will take place over a two-day period.

Mood Board:

Budget Breakdown:

Our total budget for this film is $50,000, but our primary goal on this platform is to raise $18,000, which is 36% of our total budget.

The remaining amount will come from other funding sources such as grants, investors, and sponsors to support additional crew fees, PR & marketing, legal expenses, and post-production costs.

These baseline funds will help us pay for:

Team:

Director/Writer:

Tasnim is a Chicago-based filmmaker and photographer of Palestinian and Mexican descent, with a focus on identity and cultural resilience. She began her career in Dubai and Amman, contributing to indie Arab films such as The United and 7 Hours Difference. Her short film Valeria, which delves into intergenerational trauma, has been featured at festivals including Chicagoland Shorts, the Summer Spirit of Chicago, and in Santiago, Chile.

Producer:

Gustavo is an award-winning Peruvian-American director based in Chicago. His documentary Fupa has screened at global festivals, winning Best Documentary at the 2021 Midwest Weirdfest. His feature script American Warrior was a quarter-finalist at Final Draft’s Big Break and Blue-cat Screenplay competitions. Gustavo made his feature directorial debut with American Warrior, starring Danny Trejo and Veronica Falcón, which opened the 2024 Santa Fe Film Festival and was an Official Selection at Heartland International and Tallgrass.

Impact Producer:

Sumana is a Desi Muslim-American screenwriter and filmmaker based in Chicago with a BA in Film and Television from Columbia College. Her debut short film Make Them Proud explores mental health and the eldest daughter experience in South Asian culture, sparking important conversations about therapy and representation.

Art Director:

Ava is a Chicago-based Production Designer with a BFA in Film and Television from Columbia College Chicago. Her Art Department credits include acclaimed shows like The Bear (FX), Somebody Somewhere (HBO), and Shining Girls (Apple TV), as well as indie films and commercials. Ava is also a key member of the Chicago Palestine Film Festival's film procurement team and a 35mm film projectionist.

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Thank you for your unwavering support and belief in this story. Your contribution is vital in bringing Milk to life and ensuring that our voices are powerfully amplified in the world of indie filmmaking.