Acceptable Protest is based on research on and personal experiences of university protest and disciplinary policies in North America in 2024-25, during and after the student encampments for Palestine. Tracing the absurd logic of sanctioned protest, this short animation brings to life the "Do" and "Don’t” scenarios of a typical university policy poster. The scenarios are connected by the story of a major donation from a weapons manufacturer during a genocide. Within a banal corporate landscape, the student protestors resist shifting definitions of what is "acceptable."

If you're interested in organizing a screening on your campus, please email: acceptableprotestfilm@proton.me

First presented in the exhibition 83% Perfect, at the Goldfarb Gallery, York University (2025).

Written, directed, and produced by Emerson Maxwell and Amy Ching-Yan Lam.

Supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, Toronto Arts Council, and an Artist-Direct grant from Partners in Art.