Najla is the daughter and eldest child of the late scholar, intellectual and activist Edward Said, whose 1978 book “Orientalism” — examining the Western world’s skewed perception of the East — is considered a canonical work in the area of post-colonial studies. Born in Palestine and educated in America, Said taught comparative literature at Columbia University from 1963 to 2003, served on the Palestinian National Council and was the most prominent advocate in the U.S. for Palestinian human rights, urging the world to recognize the Nakba. Since his passing in 2003, Said’s work has only become more essential as the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians rose to the fore in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks.
Said’s life is chronicled in the new documentary “Edward Said: Between Worlds.” Directed by Maiken Baird (“Ghislaine Maxwell: Filthy Rich”) and produced by Alex Gibney (“Musk”), the film paints a loving portrait of Said as a Renaissance man — he was also a professional pianist who wrote four books on music — and tireless voice for Palestinian civil rights who was often met with contempt and mockery in debate halls and on the news. After playing the Toronto International Film Festival and New York Film Festival, the doc is currently seeking distribution. Najla, an actress, playwright and activist in her own right, served as a consulting producer on the film, providing “a treasure trove” of archival footage, from home videos to photos, to aid the filmmaking team so they could “capture him as a whole.” Variety spoke with Najla Said about her father and their fight for Palestinians.
When Maiken reached out just a few months after Oct. 7, 2023, we were really excited because it seemed like someone wanted to make a documentary that showed him as a whole person and wanted to use his words to tell the story. Because we were approached a few months after Oct. 7, it seemed like the timing was right to have these ideas reach a larger audience and not a niche crowd. What happened for many of us who are Arab American or Palestinian American is the time after Oct. 7 was difficult for us in a lot of ways.
I felt overwhelmed because everything that was being discussed on the news and on podcasts was about this topic that my father had known so much about and done so much for. I started hearing people use his words and his arguments but had no idea where they came from. As more and more people are learning about the topic, I think it’s important to understand that Palestinians have been talking about this and writing about it articulately for decades.
Growing up, you don’t really understand when your father does something unique like that. You just think, oh, that’s my dad. When I was about 12 or 13 the First Intifada started, he was really on television a lot and I began to understand and be really proud of him.
What we all witnessed at the time was a lot of stress because it was dangerous. There were people threatening his life all the time, he had bodyguards around him, his office was firebombed and he would get really anxious because it felt like people were ganging up on him and he was the only person who was given voice to respond, so he had to carry it for everybody. You can see in the film that even his weight goes up and down, and TV presenters constantly condescend to him and say dehumanizing things to his face about Palestinians.
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