Day Dreams: Givat Haviva Artists Imagine Community Engagement with Full Frame

At the Duke Center for Documentary Studies (CDS), we love to host artists whose work invites reflection, connection and imagination. 

Recently, five Israeli Jewish, Palestinian and Druze graduate student artists from Givat Haviva, The Center for a Shared Society, stepped into our space for an inspiring conversation with the team behind the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, a CDS program.


The artists are currently in residence at Duke University for six weeks through the Provost’s Initiative on the Middle East. During their time here, they’ll engage with Duke students, create and exhibit work on and off campus, and visit arts venues and organizations throughout the Triangle.


Documentary Dialogue

Full Frame Co-Directors Emily Foster and Sadie Tillery shared how Full Frame has grown since its founding in 1998 into an internationally recognized celebration of nonfiction cinema. This past April, it drew 5,000 attendees, hosted 100 filmmakers and screened 60 carefully curated films. The festival is committed to supporting and centering artists — not just directors, but the full creative teams behind each film — and building meaningful connections with the local community.


The Full Frame team described how the festival is built and run each year with intention, from the careful curation to promotion and sponsorships. Its connection to Duke University provides stability and infrastructure, while preserving curatorial independence.  

“We also have an awards program, with about 10 prizes for the documentary form,” said Foster. She also shared that the festival depends on its dedicated volunteers. “We have over 200 volunteers that work with us to do everything from take tickets to help set parties and really make the festival function.”

Every screening includes a Q&A, often with the filmmaker or someone featured in the film. “The festival sparks dialogue — even our logo is a dialogue box,” added Foster. “The idea is to make it easy for people to connect with the work and the artist behind it.”  

“Part of our mission is to make the documentary art form accessible to a wider audience,” said Tillery. “So we try and offer as much free and accessible programming as we can, and that's done through partnerships with organizations and groups throughout the area.”

Interactive Installation

The visiting artists shared their own plans for engaging with the Duke and Durham communities. For example, Malak Manzour, a multidisciplinary artist and poet, and Jonathan David, a composer and sound artist, are collaborating on an interactive installation: a cave where people can record their dreams and a sculpture placed nearby that plays them back in a loop.


“We’re hoping students will come and record their dreams,” said Manzour. “It will be a collection of many dreams. The main reason is to interact with students — to get to know how people think here and how the subconscious mind works here.”  

“Dreams are central to my process,” she has said. “They are like maps — they carry messages, warnings, blessings and deep memory. I started keeping a dream journal to understand myself — and eventually, to connect with others.”
 
“I knew Marat worked with dreams,” said David, whose artwork explores the boundaries between sound, improvisation and physical space. “I knew I wanted to build a voice recorder and create something that people will interact with.”
 
Their collaboration explores how language and region shape dreams, expression and thought. “Jonathan and I both speak different languages,” Marat said. “Language is very affective in how we think and express ourselves.”

Steve Martin, who is coordinating the Givat Haviva residency at Duke, encouraged the artists to imagine their own art festivals. “This started with one person and an idea and developed into an annual festival,” he said. “You have the opportunity to take this framework they’ve shared with you and visualize your own creation in the communities you serve and interact with. So take what you can — and daydream.”
 
Other artists participating in the program are Maria Khateb, Ben Alon and Bailassan Marjieh Karim. Their work will be on display during a showcase from September 4 – 28 at the Rubenstein Arts Center.

Visit the Givat Haviva Residency Showcase from September 4 – 28, 2025 at the Rubenstein Arts Center. Engage with their artwork and share your dreams.