Screenings

Rhiza Collective Presents

Land of Canaan

A Feature Documentary

An environmental meditation following Palestinian farmers and their ancient olive trees: living symbols of livelihood, heritage, and resistance.

Official Trailer
Trento Film Festival laurelBest Documentary on Current AffairsTrento Film Festival
Arizona International Film Festival laurelBest DocumentaryArizona International Film Festival
Chagrin Documentary Film Festival laurelBest International DocumentaryChagrin Documentary Film Festival
Climate Film Festival, New York laurelAudience Choice & Seeds of Hope AwardsClimate Film Festival, New York
Ely Film Festival laurelBest CinematographyEly Film Festival

About The Film

When Dr. Nasser Abufarha, a Palestinian American entrepreneur, returns to the occupied West Bank and finds the olive harvest in crisis, he leads a movement to preserve an ecosystem and thousands of years of ecological knowledge, helping to build one of Palestine's most influential fair-trade networks. In the midst of a genocide and ecocide, where Palestinian land, culture, and livelihood face erasure, Land of Canaan documents a way of life, shows us what is at stake, and why it must be protected.

Fair Trade & Regenerative Agriculture: A Living Model
Many of the olive trees featured in the film are more than 1,000 years old, growing within regenerative, biodiversity-rich ecosystems shaped by generations of traditional permaculture knowledge. By honoring these practices, Land of Canaan presents agriculture as both resistance and future-building—demonstrating how food sovereignty, environmental stewardship, and cultural preservation are inseparable. Canaan Palestine works with over 2,400 artisan farming families across 52 villages.

Meet the Farmers

Key Team

Dr. Nasser Abufarha

Dr. Nasser Abufarha

Dr. Nasser Abufarha (Protagonist) is the founder of Canaan Palestine, which connects over 2,000 small-scale Palestinian farming families to global markets through fair trade and organic olive oil. Raised among the olive groves of Jenin, he earned a PhD in Anthropology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, focusing on culture, land, and resistance. Through his work, he has helped bring Palestinian olive oil to international recognition while supporting rural livelihoods, women's cooperatives, and educational initiatives. His efforts center on strengthening communities, sustaining traditional agricultural practices, and building economic resilience rooted in cultural heritage. He continues to advocate for fair trade and environmental stewardship on an international stage.

Maggie Lemere

Maggie Lemere

Maggie Lemere (Director / Producer) is a filmmaker, oral historian, and National Geographic Explorer whose work explores the intimate relationships between people, place, and memory. She is the director of the award-winning feature documentary Land of Canaan, about Palestinians’ relationship with ancient olive trees, and co-director of VS Goliath, a four-part documentary series following frontline environmental leaders across the United States. Her work has been supported by National Geographic, Patagonia, The Redford Center, Doc Society, and others. Grounded in oral history and collaborative storytelling, Maggie’s work explores environmental justice, cultural memory, and the connections between people and the places they call home. She is the author of Nowhere to Be Home: Narratives from Survivors of Burma’s Military Regime (McSweeney’s/Voice of Witness), co-founder of Rhiza Collective, and a member of Tikkun Olam Productions.

Carey Russell

Carey Russell

Carey Russell (Director of Photography) is a cinematographer and director of the documentary series Tibetan Stories. He has collaborated with Terrence Malick as an associate producer and editor on The New World, as assistant to cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki on The Tree of Life, and as a contributor to The Voyage of Time. Carey is also the author of The New Arcadians, an ethnographic photography monograph. Trained in forest ecology, he is a Master Naturalist and founder of The Dendro Lab, an online platform for tree identification. He lives in the Catskill region of New York.

Follow the Journey

@landofcanaanfilm
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UPCOMING SCREENINGS

Sept 24 Migrant Film Festival·Ljubljana, Slovenia Tickets → Sept 26 River Oaks Theatre·Houston, Texas Tickets → Oct 3 Toronto Palestine Film Festival·Toronto, Canada Tickets → Oct 4 Hawthorne Theaters·Hawthorne, New Jersey Tickets → Oct 8 Nichols Arboretum·University of Michigan Tickets → Oct 8 & 10 Chagrin Documentary Film Festival·Chagrin Falls, Ohio Tickets → Oct 23 Pedagogia della Speranza·Bergamo, Italy Tickets → Oct 26 Chania Film Festival·Chania, Greece Tickets → Nov 1 Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival·Banff, Alberta, Canada Tickets → Nov 13 Suncine Environmental Film Festival·Calafell, Spain Tickets → Nov 17 London Palestine Film Festival·Shoreham-by-Sea, England Tickets → Nov 20 Leeds Palestinian Film Festival·Headingley, Leeds, England Tickets → Nov 20 Torelló Mountain Film Festival·Torelló, Spain Tickets → Nov 26 London Palestine Film Festival·London, England Tickets → Sept 24 Highlands and Islands Climate Festival·Kirkwall, Orkney, Scotland Details → Sept 20 Phoenixville Film Festival·Phoenixville, Pennsylvania Details → Sept 19 Climate Film Festival·New York City Details → Sept 17 Cinema en Verde Environmental Film Festival·Rome, Italy Details → Aug 28 Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival·Middlebury, Vermont Details → Aug 23 Kugy Mountain Film Festival·Tarvisio, Italy Details → Aug 20 Dr. Bronner's Online Q&A·San Diego, California Details → Aug 18 Kinema Online Screening·Virtual Details → Aug 7 Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival·Warwick, Rhode Island Details →
Jul 16 Private Fundraising Screening·San Francisco Bay Area, California
Jul 15 Trentino Community Screening·Mezzolombardo, Italy Details → Jul 4 Nuovi Mondi Mountain Festival·Rittana, Italy Details →
Jun 6 Seekers Church·Takoma Park, Maryland
May 23 Palestine Museum US·Virtual Details → May 14 Grassroots Village·Hatta, UAE Details → May 14 NMC International Affairs Forum / On the Ground Global·Traverse City, Michigan Details → May 8 Trento Film Festival·Milan, Italy Details → Apr 27 & 29 Trento Film Festival·Trento, Italy Details → Apr 24 Chicago Palestine Film Festival·Chicago, Illinois Details → Apr 19 Arizona International Film Festival·Tucson, Arizona Details → Mar 28 Nordic Palestine Film Festival·Stockholm, Sweden Details → Mar 21 Nordic Palestine Film Festival·Malmö, Sweden Details → Mar 11 Ely Film Festival·Ely, Minnesota Details → Nov 7, 2025 Saint Louis International Film Festival·St. Louis, Missouri Details →

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