Activism Award

In commemoration of the 60th year since Al-Nakba (The Catastrophe)

The award reads:

"The San Diego Chapter of the American-Arab Anti Discrimination Committee

ACTIVISM AWARD

presented to

Jennifer Hsu

In recognition of your activism on behalf of the Arab people, especially your efforts to bring to light the plight of the Palestinians in the San Diego Women's Film Festival."

I've never received an award before, and one such as this I was very proud to accept. I labored over my acceptance speech, which I didn't get a chance to say. In lieu of a statement, I showed my newly edited preview of the Refugees in Syria experimental documentary.

Here is the statement I would have said:

Thank you, I am very honored to receive this award, and I am accepting this on behalf of the 13 judges of the 5th annual San Diego Women’s Film Festival. The decision to observe the international boycott of Israeli cultural exports was a collective one made by this group of women from diverse backgrounds. In practice, this decision meant that we would not exhibit films funded by Israel. Amongst the many other controversial topics concerning the politics of race, sexuality, class and geopolitics, we decided to join the global community of artists and cultural leaders who have been acting in the wake of the Anti-Apartheid boycott movement of South Africa 20 years ago.

Boycotting artists are not about censorship. Cultural boycotts are not boycotts of individuals- but of policies and institutions. ..... The goal is to pressure large entities that are complicit with the Israeli government's policies of human rights violations and transgressions against Palestinians. Violent methods have been employed, and are still being employed, in a thus far unsuccessful attempt to regain the rights that have been lost. As a westerner and pacifist with democratic values, I have few options remaining to me for resistance to war. I realized that observing the boycott in the context of art curation was the only appropriate way to resist.

This decision lit the fire of divisive outcry that changed my life. In my naivete I underestimated the consequences of this decision. ... Much of the press that ensued eclipsed the humanitarian crisis issue completely and it transformed into a smear campaign against me. I was struggling with my board of directors, hate mail and phone calls and it was a horrifying experience to be the target of such hate and venom.

In the end, the festival went on. After I was able to negotiate a compromise with the board: the festival showed a program explicitly titled: “A Future Now: Non-Violent Resistance and Boycotts in Israel and Palestine” that included pro-peace films from both Palestine and Israel, followed by a panel discussion.

After the festival was over, I resigned from my position as festival director. In the end, as a woman, a minority in the US, a filmmaker and as an arts curator, I believe that the controversial decision to boycott shed a tiny beam of desperately need light on a dire humanitarian crisis that has been going on for far too long.

Thank you again for recognizing me.