SWANA speaks

"Trauma in a society becomes a culture"

'We talk about Palestine as an abstract idea, not about Palestinian people'

'I am stateless, and I carry that with me wherever I go'

'White feminism created the myth that Muslim men are inherently more violent'

'A unique trauma accompanies being Armenian because the genocide is still denied by most of the world'

"There's no such thing as cool music. What makes music cool is your connection to it"

'Under 1% of roles go to SWANA actors' — plus, how cinema is a tool of resistance

“What is grief if not love persevering?”

'I'd always railed against the idea of tradition. But maybe tradition is the thing that holds you while you question it'

"Islam doesn’t speak, they speak for Islam."

'I look for examples of queerness in Iran's 19th century Qajar dynasty'

'It's not okay to break into someone's home, kill them and take that house. Why do I have to explain that?'