The international Palestinian resistance: Documentary and revolt

This article traces the foundations of the struggle for international recognition at the level of cultural production within the Palestinian movement for self-determination. Both the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) used innovative rhetorical strategies in documentary film-making to argue for the international status of the Palestinian struggle, in the process revealing themselves intellectually capable of the challenges of leadership. The two films examined in this article, The Palestinian Right and Declaration of World War, participate in the construction of differing visions of Palestinian statehood. Where Declaration of World War insists on the obligation of the international community to respond to the demands of propaganda, The Palestinian Right stages an intervention into debates on the worth of international bodies and transnational legal frameworks. Both films rigorously investigate the connections between colonialism, imperialism and Zionism, arguing for a more trans-historical and transnational approach to the struggle for Palestine. © 2014 © 2014 Taylor & Francis.