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Screening will start at 12:00 PM US EDT; 19:00 Palestine, 18:00 Europe, UK 17:00; Running Time 47 minutes, 2025, English language. The screening will be followed by Q&A discussions with author Omar El Akkad. and Gaza-borne journalist Jehan Alfarra.
“One day, when it's safe, when there's no personal downside to calling a thing what it is, when it's too late to hold anyone accountable, everyone will have always been against this.” This was a tweet posted by award-winning Egyptian-Canadian novelist and journalist Omar El Akkad on X in October 2023. It is also the title of his recently published New York Times Bestseller which has also been shortlisted for the 2025 Palestine Book Awards. A memoir, and a reckoning with what it means to live in a West that betrays its fundamental values. Omar spent the past two decades reporting on major world events, the so-called War on Terror, Ferguson, climate change and more. And for almost 2 years now, watching the carnage, the genocide in Gaza, enabled by the West.
About Omar El Akkad
Omar El Akkad is a Canadian-American novelist and journalist born in Cairo, Egypt, in 1982. He grew up in Doha, Qatar, and later moved to Canada with his family, completing high school in Montreal and university at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, where he earned a computer science degree.
Career Highlights:
- ournalism: El Akkad has reported from various global hotspots, including Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay, and Egypt during the Arab Spring. He worked as a staff reporter for The Globe and Mail, covering international news and later becoming a correspondent for the western United States.
Literary Works
He has published several notable works, including
- American War (2017): a dystopian novel set in a future America ravaged by climate change and civil war, which received critical acclaim and was named one of the best books of the year by The New York Times and The Washington Post.
- What Strange Paradise (2021): a novel exploring the plight of refugees and the human experiences behind immigration crises, which won the Giller Prize and was selected for the 2022 edition of Canada Reads.
- One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This* (2025): a book about the 2024 war on Gaza, reflecting on his work as a journalist and the West's role in global conflicts ¹ ².
Awards and Recognition:
- Giller Prize (2021) for "What Strange Paradise"
- National Newspaper Award for Investigative Journalism
- Goff Penny Memorial Prize for Young Canadian Journalists ³ ¹.