Black Box Presents - Arts in Action with Batikh Batikh
A Film Screening and Panel on Endometriosis - Rooted in the Knowledge of SWANA Women
September 5th, FREE
Doors at 1:00pm, Film 1:30pm, Panel 2:00pm EST
Two out of four members of Batikh Batikh identify as having endometriosis, so as part of Black Box Presents: Arts in Action, which connects the arts to social justice activism, the collective wanted to focus on women’s and queer health access, endometriosis and South-West Asian North African (SWANA) culture. The event will feature a screening of Malak AlSayyad’s short documentary, I Told You So, an intimate first-person exploration of navigating life and love with chronic pain, while battling dismissive doctors, a skeptical mother, and that relentless inner voice telling you that it's all in your head. Afterwards, there will be a panel featuring the filmmaker, as well as local and international doctors, researchers and artists who focus on endometriosis and/or have the condition.
The event is free to attend. Batikh Batikh will be hosting a bake sale and 100% of any donations or proceeds will go towards (1) Palestinian and Sudanese mutual aid campaigns and (2) the WISH (Women Integrated Sexual Health) program by the American University of Beirut Medical Center and the Asfari Institution in Beirut. You can donate here: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=32UL4B2TKGWQY
About Batikh Batikh:
Batikh Batikh is a pop-up cinema and gallery that centers South-West Asian North African (SWANA) women and queer artists. BB focuses on bringing SWANA films to Philadelphia and helping local queer and women artists acquire resources for solo exhibitions at rented spaces. Based on an anti-capitalist art model, where all art is free to the public with featured artists paid, these screenings and exhibitions provide programming that showcases SWANA and queer joy outside the Western gaze.
About Black Box Presents - Arts In Action
Made possible through lead support by the People’s Media Fund, Black Box Presents: Arts In Action is a yearlong screening and conversation series at Vox Populi exploring the role of the arts in movements for social change. Across four programs in 2026, community organizers will present films and media alongside facilitated dialogues on urgent issues including immigrant justice, queer liberation, health access, and community self-determination.
The series is presented in collaboration with community partners, Asian Americans United, SEAMAAC, Hot Bits, and Batikh Batikh, bringing together artists, organizers, and community members for shared learning and dialogue. By centering community-led storytelling as a catalyst for organizing, Arts in Action highlights how cultural spaces can strengthen networks, spark conversation, and help build collective power. The series will culminate in a community forum and a freely available arts-and-social-change toolkit sharing strategies and stories from the year.
Moderator
Yasmine Azzi, MD is a resident physician in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Jefferson Einstein Philadelphia Hospital in North Philadelphia. Her commitment to medicine is rooted in the principles of equity, justice, and community partnership. For many years, she has worked alongside communities across Philadelphia through grassroots organizing and advocacy, building lasting relationships and supporting initiatives that address barriers to health and well-being. Dr. Azzi is dedicated to providing compassionate, evidence-based obstetric and gynecologic care while creating spaces where every patient feels seen, heard, and respected. She plans to pursue a career in global health focused on expanding access to high-quality obstetric and gynecologic care in resource-limited settings, with the goal of building sustainable partnerships both locally and back home in her country of origin, Algeria.
Panelists
Sohayla El Fakahany is a medical anthropologist and social researcher specializing in sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), gender, and chronic illness. She is currently a doctoral researcher in Anthropology at the University of Copenhagen, where her PhD project, From Endo Warrior to Endless Worrier: The Burden of Endometriosis on Egyptian Women, ethnographically explores the lived experiences, medical encounters, and socio-cultural frameworks surrounding endometriosis in Egypt. Alongside her doctoral work, Sohayla works as a research consultant with the Faculty of Health Sciences at the American University of Beirut and is a founding member of the East Mediterranean Federation of Sexual Health (EMFeSH). Her work is deeply committed to utilizing intersectional, community-centered methodologies to examine health systems, address structural inequalities, and improve lived experiences of care across the SWANA region.
Dr. Mariam Gomaa is a gynecologist and writer based in Washington, DC. Her writing has appeared in Time, NBC News, ABC News, Los Angeles Review of Books, Readings for Diversity and Social Justice 4e, and more. She has also been featured on CNN, Huffington Post and NPR, among other media outlets, as an expert on gynecologic and obstetric health.
Alyssa Khalifa (b. 1996, Michigan) obtained her BFA in painting and sculpture from Aquinas College (Grand Rapids, MI) in 2019 and MFA from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (Philadelphia, PA) in 2022. Her figurative work establishes multicultural and queer representation from an identity-based lens and gaze. Using materials such as acrylic and oil paint, plaster, foam, and papyrus paper, she explores the juxtaposition of tender figuration and the physicality of mixed materials. She has exhibited work both in Michigan and Philadelphia and has over eight years of teaching experience. Currently, she teaches 7th-12th mixed media art in Philadelphia as well as pre-college painting and drawing courses.
Malak AlSayyad (she/her) is a documentary filmmaker from Cairo, Egypt. In her work, she explores inequality, power and taboo, and the people and movements that challenge them. Malak tells complex human stories with empathy and nuance. Her filmmaking is shaped by her experience working on journalistic, artistic and commercial films and multimedia projects across the US, Germany and Egypt, as well as her work with cultural nonprofits and film festivals. Malak’s directorial debut short, I Told You So (2024), screened at over twenty festivals worldwide, including DOC NYC, Clermont-Ferrand and the Fujifilm Short Film Festival, and received 12 awards alongside overwhelmingly positive audience feedback.