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On Mar. 28, 2025, New York City鈥檚 Angelika Film Center filled quickly as person after person鈥攎any of whom wore a keffiyeh鈥攃laimed their seats for the opening-night sold-out screening of , a new documentary that provides an inside look into the lead-up and aftermath of the first constructed nearly one year ago.

The film, which is co-directed by journalist Kei Pritsker and Michael T. Workman, and executive produced by Macklemore, has for having the highest per-screen-average opening for a documentary. On Apr. 4, 2025, The Encampments will be released nationwide, meaning theatergoers all over the United States will be able to watch one of the most crucial films of this decade鈥攐ne that dissolves the widespread claims of antisemitism brought upon the Palestinian liberation movement and captures the unrelenting spirit of Palestine activism in the U.S.

The release of The Encampments was accelerated after Mahmoud Khalil鈥攐ne of its main protagonists鈥攚as . We learn in the documentary that Khalil was a Palestinian scholar at Columbia University, known for his diplomatic character and handpicked by his fellow students to negotiate with the university administration on their behalf.

Since his capture, Khalil with what will ultimately be a bogus crime. In the meantime, the Trump administration, , and other government entities are actively trying to rewrite his story and tarnish his image. They claim that Khalil is a supporter of terrorism who slipped through the cracks rather than a brave and selfless Palestinian student committed to the liberation of his people.

But like all great works of journalism, The Encampments intervenes at a critical point to offer a powerful declaration: There鈥檚 the government鈥檚 story, and then there鈥檚 the real one. The documentary captures that true story in ways that are politically inspiring, emotionally demanding, and visually riveting all at once. 

The majority of the film is narrated by Khalil, co-negotiator Sueda Polat, and other students, all of whom impart their perspective on the exhausting work of trying to influence a collegiate administration. An interview with a whistleblower from the university鈥檚 communications department reveals the institutional bias administrators had against pro-Palestine campus protests from the start. And a Columbia alum provides a retrospective of the university鈥檚 own history of student activism during the 1960s anti-war movement, highlighting the hypocrisy of Columbia鈥檚 celebration of activists of the past while calling the police on those in the present.

All of this journalistic storytelling supports the camerawork of co-director Pritsker, who skillfully submerges us in the daily activities of the encampment. During a Q&A following the screening, Pritsker鈥攚ho himself camped for several days at the encampment鈥攕aid that many negative stories told about the encampments and broadcasted on television come from individuals 鈥渨ho never even set foot on Columbia鈥檚 campus.鈥� 

鈥淚t just so happened that we were sitting on this trove of film that disproved everything they鈥檝e been saying,鈥� he added. To make this point, The Encampments juxtaposes a montage of news broadcasts in which anchors utterly reject the protests, claiming they are disgusting and hateful, with the encampment footage recorded by Pritsker. In doing so, the film convincingly probes at these vilifying narratives by placing us as casual observers of the encampments so that we can come to know the true motives of their student dissenters. 

Viewers follow Columbia students as they embark on months of activism to demand investment transparency from the university administration, as well as divestment from weapons manufacturers and other companies complicit in Israel鈥檚 genocide in Gaza. We see the outcomes (or lack thereof) of countless lengthy meetings with administrators until eventually鈥攊nevitably鈥攕tudents construct an encampment at the heart of Columbia鈥檚 campus. 

Once the tents are erected, large text (Day 1, Day 2, and so on) introduces subsequent scenes, establishing a chronological timeline of the encampment鈥檚 rapid growth and joyous celebrations that ultimately led to violent clashes initiated by counterprotesters armed with weapons and fireworks. 

The Encampments鈥� keenly observant recording of day-to-day interactions between students also helps viewers realize the layers of planning and organization that go into a , as well as the multicultural solidarity that undoubtedly kept it intact for several days, despite threats of disciplinary action and raids by the NYPD. The camera is often shoulder height, sitting beside students as one shows another how to play bongos during chants, or within the crowd, listening as Khalil and Polat give the latest news from their meetings with administrators.聽

At one point, we are shown a whiteboard schedule with dedicated time for studying, teach-ins, and nightly communal mourning to pay respects to the latest Palestinians killed in Gaza. Multiple times throughout the film, Jewish students are seen participating equally in the encampment鈥攅ngaging in speeches, religious prayer, and song鈥攁nd getting arrested by the NYPD. 

But the weaving of campus footage with footage filmed in Gaza, including exclusive interviews with Palestinian journalists who live there, is what makes The Encampments particularly painful and gripping. There are hard-to-watch clips of interactions between Palestinians, Israeli military, and Israeli settlers, and Khalil鈥檚 narration of his family鈥檚 story is interspersed with historical footage of refugee camps formed after the 1948 Nakba. 鈥淎 big part of our political goal was to contextualize why the students were doing what they were doing,鈥� co-director Workman said during the Q&A, before adding that it was critical to ground the documentary in Palestine. 

The result is a historically conscious film that testifies to generations of occupational violence with a narrative that is just as much in service of Palestinian freedom as the movement it so thoroughly depicts is. As the filmmakers intended, it becomes impossible to forget the connection between the bombs Israel drops in Gaza and the tuition dollars students spend at prestigious universities like Columbia. And just as this conclusion is reached, we are thrust into a compilation of video clips that show the widespread influence of the encampment movement at several universities across the U.S. 

鈥淭his isn鈥檛 a mentality you can just lock away in a prison,鈥� Pritsker said, adding that students expressed a commitment to return to the encampment regardless of the consequences. Munir Atalla, one of the film鈥檚 producers who facilitated the Q&A, concurred: 鈥淭his is a mass movement. It鈥檚 un-deportable.鈥�

For anyone still awaiting an invitation to join the Palestinian liberation movement, The Encampments offers a compelling one. And for journalists with any moral or civic bone left in their bodies, this film is an example of how to not only report on the movements of our time, but how to also reclaim truth in a new era of escalating political repression.