The SOAS Palestine Society invites you to the documentary screening of
The ‘Do Gooders’
The ‘Do Gooders’ is a guerrilla road movie into the murky world of International Aid, exploring the impact of foreign aid in the Middle East. But what starts out as a simple quest becomes increasingly complex as the personal and political become ever more entwined.
Director and artist Chloe Ruthven comes from a family of ‘Do Gooders’ herself. 50 years after her grandparents made their first trip, Chloe travels back to the region to see how their work is carrying on today. What she finds is a very different picture to the one she’d heard about as a child, with international aid agencies working to an American and Israeli agenda rather than changing anything for the Palestinians. In response, Chloe employs local activist Lubna to help. An intense friendship develops between them, as they start documenting the complex and imbalanced relationships that develop between the donors and the recipients.
The screening will be followed by a discussion by the director and producer Chloe as well as the local activist Lubna. They will be taking questions from the audience as well as give a small presentation about their experiences with the ‘do gooders’ in Palestine.