The Encampments (The Encampments)

Michael T. Workman, Kei Pritsker

When a group of students at Columbia University in New York launch a movement protesting the war in Gaza, they spark a nationwide uprising in solidarity with the people of Gaza. Encampments spring up at hundreds of campuses as students object to their own university’s investment in the US and Israeli arms industry. Featuring detained student activist Mahmoud Khalil, The Encampments takes viewers inside America’s student uprising with incredible intimacy and urgency. Professors, whistleblowers, and student activists shed light on a moment that captivated the nation’s attention and continues to make headlines today.

USA, Palestine 2025, '82

DIRECTOR: Michael T. Workman, Kei Pritsker

CAMERA: Matthew Belen, Munir Atalla, Kei Pritsker, Michael T. Workman, Benjamin Becker

PRODUCTION: A Breakthrough News Production

Michael T. Workman

Michael T. Workman is an award winning documentary filmmaker, festival programmer, and educator. Workman’s documentaries have screened at festivals around the world, including Sheffield DocFest, Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, IFFBoston, Sidewalk Film Festival, and many more. His latest film Meantime (2022) won the Best Short Film Award at Telluride Mountainfilm, Best Short Documentary Award at BendFilm Festival and the Vimeo Staff Pick Award at Palm Springs ShortFest. He is a former resident filmmaker at SFFILM and teaches documentary film production at University of San Francisco.

Kei Pritsker

Kei Pritsker is a journalist of BreakThrough News with Jewish heritage. He previously worked for Mint Press News, where his work focused on Industry, the economy, and politics. In the past year, he has become the recognizable face of BreakThrough News’ coverage of the unrest in New York City and beyond, amassing an online following and almost doubling their platform’s reach. During the student encampments at Columbia, he was one of the only journalists trusted by the organizers to cover the encampment from within, making his reporting one of the most exclusive archives of this student movement.