If I were to describe the experience of watching Hind’s Hall in one word, it would be visceral.
The film, which is a docu-fiction produced by two independent filmmakers about the student liberation of Hamilton Hall during the protests that took place last semester, is a project that is immensely concerned with emotion and the senses. It begins with a rendition of the song sung by members of the first encampment, the lyrics of which are immediately recognizable and decidedly affectual for any Columbia student: “your people are my people, our struggles align.” From then, it goes on to linearly chronicle the occupation of the building all the way from students entering its doors to their being assaulted and removed by police. The directors skillfully use sound, color, and visual effects to delicately reconstruct the experience of being on campus at that time in all of its chaos. From then, the directors turn towards a meditation on the present day, with footage from a protest on October 7th, 2024. Finally, the viewer is met with a reading of “We Teach Life, Sir” by Rafeef Ziadah, before the film concludes.
The film, I would argue, is above all else about memory, and how it is engaged in an effort to cure the localized amnesia that has overpowered Columbia’s student body since the events in April. There is much to be said in this regard, considering the content of the film and its effort to create a historical record of Columbia’s protest movement, about the fact that it in and of itself protests the prescriptions and restrictions of film as a medium. The film has been screened over 35 times, and each time it is, the directors have made changes to it, either adding or removing different clips or elements or even reaching outside the screen to include live musical performance, poetry readings, or audience participation. In this sense, the film is concerned with not just creating memory but how our present currently shapes it. It is engaged with creating a historical archive for that which has passed, but also with what Columbia’s divestment movement is currently grappling with. The directors have planned for the film to reach a point of completion by April 30th, and I’m sure by then it will have evolved into a formidable recollection of the better part of the past year and a half of campus life. We highly recommend to all who have a chance to view the film to watch it.
Those interested in learning more about the film from its directors should like to view their recently published interview, also in The Columbia Review.