Dreams of a Nation is a Palestinian film project that grew out of our love and admiration as well as collective concern about the fate of one of the most exciting contemporary national cinemas. In January 2003, we put together a major Palestinian film festival at Columbia University in New York. The extraordinary range and depth of Palestinian cinema drew an exceptionally enthusiastic audience from around the country to our unprecedented event. Despite the fact the we did our best to make our festival as comprehensive as possible, and although we screened upwards of 34 films, at the conclusion of the festival we realized that we had started a project beyond our immediate means and expectations. Soon after the successful completion of the festival we began working on expanding our archive and sharing it with other universities, colleges, museums, community centers, and festivals. The task of putting together a comprehensive archive of Palestinian cinema--narrative and documentary--as well as a reliable database are exceptionally daunting. Dreams of a Nation: A Palestinian Film Project is a preliminary endeavor that for years will remain a work-in-progress. Our resources are very limited, but we have every intention of sustaining the record of our success. The Palestinian cinema has much to offer the world. On behalf of the collective that has made Dreams of a Nation: A Palestinian Film Project possible, I welcome you to our site and hope you will find it informative and helpful. To date, we have managed to list over 65 filmmakers and more than 200 films (and the list will grow). We would be grateful for any constructive suggestions you might have to make our site more useful. Hamid Dabashi Columbia University New York Annemarie Jacir New York/Palestine