At 4 a.m. on April 17, 2024, students on Columbia University’s Morningside campus began assembling tents. By the time the rest of campus had woken up, the first “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” was fully constructed. The tent-covered lawn and around-the-clock sit-in was an escalation by students who had, for many months, been calling for their school to cut ties with companies that were profiting from the war in Gaza.
The Columbia encampment lasted nearly two weeks and inspired hundreds of similar protests around the world. Now, an immersive new documentary called The Encampments takes viewers onto the Columbia campus and into the hearts and motivations of the student crusaders who put their academic futures in jeopardy by taking a stand. The film also raises questions about where the priorities and finances of Columbia — and other educational institutions like it — really lie.
One of the most important elements of the movie is its debunking of the public narrative about the actions and motivations of the protesters. You can’t help but feel a little bit of fury hearing New York mayor Eric Adams declare that the protesters are “here to create discord and divisiveness” when the documentary provides so much opposing evidence. Much of the footage from the encampment involves students peacefully organizing, passionately speaking, singing songs, distributing food, dancing, reading poetry and watching documentaries together. Far from divisive, it’s an inspiration to behold.
Compounding that sense of unfairness are news reports featured in the film suggesting protesters were using anti-semitic language and intimidating Jewish people on campus. Those soundbites are juxtaposed with footage of multiple Jewish allies speaking at the encampment and yarmulke-wearing students sitting on the lawn in solidarity. At one point, a havdalah ritual takes place.
“It’s completely farcical to imply in any way that Jewish people were being persecuted or being driven off the encampment,” student Grant Miner tells directors Kei Pritsker and Michael T. Workman at one point. Miner, a man of Jewish faith, was a prominent figure in the protests. “We don’t tolerate that! We’re internationalists. We believe that this is a struggle that unites all people.”
