The Encampments Film Review: Stand Up

The Encampments takes an unvarnished look at the pro-Palestinian student protests after October 7, and the value of fighting for what’s right.

This is probably why directors Michael T. Workman and Kei Pritsker take an insider approach to documenting the nuts and bolts of the early days of the most infamous of the movements, at Columbia University.

Chances are that if you’re watching The Encampments, you already know how you feel about the reality of Israel’s genocidal campaign against citizens of Palestine. The film mostly focuses on the efforts of the students to effectively put their message forward, the media’s black-and-white reaction to those efforts, and the underhanded tactics from the university’s leadership to undermine the students’ rights. If you’ve paid attention to the news at all since the protests began, you likely won’t find much new information within the film. Rather, Workman and Pritsker depict the unflinching resolve of the students to stand up for what they believe is right.

There are some detours within the film to show how the protests fit within a historical context. In 1968, Columbia students put together a similar encampment to protest the war in Vietnam. The movie also provides historical footage beginning shortly after the founding of Israel in 1948, and similar aggressions towards Palestine, to note that the post-October 7 ordeal is far from a new phenomenon. The Encampments occasionally narrows its focus on a few of the organizers, mostly Mahmoud Khalil (more on that in a moment), Sueda Polat, and Grant Miner. Surely Workman and Pritsker had some idea of the importance of what they were filming at the moment, but their ability to document everything and visualize the unvarnished reality is commendable.

Indeed, if the news clippings and statements from university officials played throughout the film were to be believed, the Columbia encampment would be a place of radical hatred, of showing support for a terrorist organization and the extermination of Jewish people without exception. But the movie argues that the protests simply stood for the rights of the Palestinian civilians who were being targeted and killed by the IDF, and took place with the support and participation of many Jewish students, faculty, and Israeli expats. It’s not that the protests had unreasonable demands for the school – they simply wanted leadership to divest from corporations like Black Rock and Lockheed Martin. However, some members of the school’s board of trustees had pre-existing financial ties, which likely caused them to value their bottom dollar over anything else.

If anything is enlightening about The Encampments, it’s in the stark contrast of where we are today. The film’s post-script notes that Khalil was detained for deportation in early 2025 under false pretenses and without a trial and, as of this writing, still remains in a detention facility in Louisiana – far from his wife and newborn child. Many of the citizens (including children) and journalists seen in the clips from Palestine are likely either dead or under threat of starvation because of Israel’s blockade of humanitarian aid. Colleges all across America are under attack from the new administration in new and terrifying ways, with the blanket pretense of “anti-Semitism” as an excuse. Peaceful protests are a foundational tenant of America, and though those in power are actively working against them today, The Encampments shows how vital and necessary they are for those who perceive injustices.

The Encampments will be released in UK & Irish cinemas from June 6, 2025. The film is now available to watch in select U.S. theaters.