By Nural Sümbültepe
Nearly a quarter century after his passing, and as timely as ever, comes a compelling film about the legendary scholar, Edward Said.
Whether intentional or not, the metaphoric images in the opening minutes of Edward Said: Between Worlds seem to capture its entire spirit. We first see a wild horse running freely, evoking freedom and the refusal to be controlled. An East-West fusion of gorgeous music accompanies the horse, creating a memorable opening that feels both timeless and contemporary. Almost immediately, a young, striking Edward Said appears on screen, his expression full of possibility as he looks toward the future of his country.
I first encountered Edward Said during my graduate studies, when a professor declared that no one would pass her class without reading Orientalism. What seemed then like an academic ultimatum became, in retrospect, a lifelong lesson and the beginning of a deep admiration for his work. For many of us, Said has served as a compass as we attempt to make sense of world politics then and today.
Few would dispute that Said stands among the most influential public intellectual figures of the 20th century. He left an indelible mark through the depth and breadth of his scholarship, his pioneering contributions to postcolonial studies, his relentless dedication to justice for Palestine, and his extraordinary presence in the media.
For viewers unfamiliar with Said, the film offers a fascinating introduction not only to a remarkable polymath, but also to a true gentleman.
The film is particularly effective in situating his life within the broader historical context that is essential to understanding both Said and the plight of Palestinians. At the heart of the story is the man and his enduring connection to his birthplace, Palestine. His story is not simply a personal one. His life and work remained deeply intertwined with Palestine, a country he carried with him wherever he went.
Said’s life shaped by the Nakba
Born in 1935 and growing up in Jerusalem and Cairo, he experienced firsthand the profound effects of the Nakba in 1948 and dispersal and diaspora within his own family. Those experiences shaped his understanding of major historical turning points and informed his perspective, where he consistently challenged conventional assumptions. In the film, we hear Said say, “Detroit makes cars. Jerusalem makes religion.” As a secular intellectual born in a city of immense religious importance, he understood how its contested religious status had fuelled political and social conflicts.
This is not a cradle-to-grave biography that follows Said’s life in rigid chronological sequence. The scenes move effortlessly at a dynamic pace between the “different worlds” of Said’s life, interweaving multiple dialogues, interviews, and using news reports, photographs, and archival footage. The footage includes debates, BBC interviews, the Oslo Accords, his association with Palestinian Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat and the 1986 conversation with author Salman Rushdie, and his final extensive interview a year before his death.
Particularly compelling is the gold mine collection of videos that the Said family allowed to be used for the first time; a huge collection of never-before-seen 8mm home movies shot by Edward’s father, which capture a life in Palestine before the Nakba, when 75 percent of Palestinians were forced out of their homes in the territory that became Israel. We also observe Edward’s earliest years as a high school student in America feeling disoriented, homesick and “out of place”.
These images offer a glimpse of Said beyond the public persona, revealing a warmer and more vulnerable side behind the reputation, making him even more likeable, but they also show a Palestine before the Nakba, a Palestine the world denies to know.
Perhaps not entirely a Palestinian village, but it certainly took a village to make this film.
The Danish-born American director, Maiken Baird worked with great producers and an excellent editorial team. They deserve special recognition for their selection and shaping of countless archival materials into a coherent narrative. Said’s eloquent and engaging voice anchors the film.
Director aimed to understand the world around her
Recordings drawn from different periods of his life, are edited and interwoven throughout the film so seamlessly that we hear Said narrating the film from beginning to end. The result is almost a cinematic rendering of his written autobiography, Out of Place: A Memoir, brought to life through the interplay of his voice, memories, and images.
Maiken Baird’s parents knew Edward Said personally during the 1980s. Maiken and her father read Said’s The Question of Palestine, and had their world completely changed by the book as Europeans. They struck up a lively friendship and Maiken was inspired to go to Columbia University, where Said was a professor of literature, for her undergraduate studies.
Baird, known for many great documentaries including Ghislaine Maxwell: Filthy Rich, assumes a challenging job and balances this large-scale biography. Baird covers considerable ground within its 107-minute runtime, yet the film inevitably cannot fully encompass the breath of Said’s body of work. His groundbreaking texts, most notably Orientalism, the book that established his reputation, warrant a film of their own.
Baird’s impulse for the film emerged from a desire to understand the world around her (back when it was a year into an active genocide) and to find a way of processing the present by returning to the words of Edward Said. Baird’s extensive background (working with the UN, the EU, and as a researcher at ABC News) must have clearly equipped her with the diplomatic and journalistic insight and scrutiny essential to lead this complex project.
For producer Sarah Mowaswes, becoming part of the film was a serendipitous experience. When she saw the words “Edward Said”, she immediately jumped at the opportunity. Mowaswes’s first conversation with the director, Baird, sparked an instant kinship and the beginnings of a creative partnership. Mowaswes was particularly drawn to Maiken’s idea of bringing Said into the present through his own words. The producer saw it as both timely and a brilliant way of exploring the complexities of our current world by returning to Said’s voice and ideas.
A first-generation Palestinian American filmmaker, Mowaswes brings her industry credentials as well as a passion for archive.
“Archive blends worlds together and our film does just that,” Mowaswes tells the Toronto Spark. “It seamlessly weaves through Edward’s prose while showcasing imagery of Palestine that is so often hidden.”
Said film features an original score
The involvement of Said’s daughter, Najla Said, as a consulting producer lends the film an invaluable dimension of intimacy and authority. Her dual perspective as both family member and intellectual heir ensures the film honors her father’s legacy with authenticity and emotional resonance.
Given Said’s background as a classical pianist and a music critic, no film with Said could exist without music at its heart. The film features an original score with Arabic tunes by Kareem Roustom and lively classical music pieces, which, I can only imagine, were some of Said’s favourites. Speaking of his involvement with music, it is touching to see how Said co-founded the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra bringing together musicians from the West and different parts of the Middle East including Israel.
The editing, the music, and the non-linear structure of the script elevate the film, but in truth, the film hardly needs these devices. The richness and complexity of the man himself are more than enough to hold our attention throughout the extensive film. I don’t have a hero, but if I did, it would be Edward Said.
As sentimental as it may sound, as a devoted admirer of Edward Said, I found myself wishing that the film had ended with a scene acknowledging how badly he has been missed. In these terrible and bewildering times, like many people, I would have appreciated his voice; his perspective, his wisdom, and his ability to help us make sense of the devastating genocide still going on in his birthplace and witnessed daily on our screens, yet too often met with a degree of indifference.
At a time when the world can seem strangely accepting and passive in the face of such suffering, we need voices like his to shake people out of complacency and demand a deeper moral outrage. The film is important in the sense it prompts audience to question who owns history and how we get to the truth, especially when those in power attempt to control who has the right to tell their own story.
“This film is built for a global audience,” say the filmmakers, “because it touches on topics that extend beyond Palestinian self-determination. Edward was wonderful at that—bringing people together—and that is the hope for our film. To bridge together different audiences and create conversation.”
This is a film you must watch whether you know and have read Said or not.
TIFF will present another screening of Edward Said: Between Worlds at 1:15 p.m. on Sunday (September 20) at Scotiabank Theatre. For tickets and more information, visit the TIFF website. Nural Sümbültepe is a B.C. teacher. Learn more about the communities that make up Canada on the Toronto Spark website. The Toronto Spark is on Bluesky @torontospark.bsky.social.
