Let’s get straight to it, before we divert you
Admission: Basic admission CZK 150 | reduced admission CZK 100 | 30% discount for DOX Club members
Language: English and Czech
The event takes place as part of the FALL festival.
Gulliver Airship
Poupětova 1, Prague 7
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On the final evening of the festival, Colum McCann will have a conversation with Rami Elhanan and Bassam Aramin, the main protagonists of his celebrated novel Apeirogon.
Bassam Aramin is Palestinian. Rami Elhanan is Israeli. Both of their worlds fall apart after the conflict claims the lives of their daughters: ten-year-old Abir is killed by a rubber bullet and thirteen-year-old Smadar becomes the victim of suicide bombers.
Yet Rami and Bassam manage to find a way to connect with each other and become the best of friends. This is the story that inspired Colum McCann’s renowned novel Apeirogon – the true story of two fathers who have recognised the loss that connects them and decided to use their grief as a weapon for peace.
Colum McCann met Bassam and Rami on a trip with the non-profit organisation Narrative 4, which he co-founded in 2013. On the final night of the FALL festival, Rami Elhanan, Bassam Aramin, and Colum McCann will speak about the power of stories, friendship, and empathy.
Hosted by: Petr Vizina
Colum McCann is the author of seven novels, three collections of stories, and two works of non-fiction. Born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, he has been the recipient of many international honours, including the US National Book Award, the International Dublin Literary Prize, the title of Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres granted by the French government, election to the Irish Arts Academy, several European awards, the 2010 Best Foreign Novel Award in China, and an Oscar nomination. In 2017 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts. His work has been published in over 40 languages. He is the president and co-founder of the non-profit global story exchange organisation Narrative 4. He is the Thomas Hunter Writer in Residence at Hunter College in New York, where he lives with his wife Allison and their family. His most recent novel, Apeirogon, became an immediate New York Times best-seller and won several major international awards. His first major non-fiction book, American Mother, will be published in January 2024.
Bassam Aramin, a Palestinian academic, and Rami Elhanan, an Israeli graphic designer, both lost their daughters to violence in their homeland. They now give lectures around the world, calling for peace. The story of the unlikely friendship of these two fathers united in grief and their desire for peace inspired Colum McCann’s celebrated novel Apeirogon.
General Partner of the FALL festival
FALL Festival Partners
