The Houston Palestine Film Festival launches its fourth annual dose of film, music, dance and panel discussions with a rooftop kickoff party at Kohn’s tonight at 7 p.m.

Voted Best Film Festival by Houston Press readers last year, this year’s two-weekend cultural adventure in film runs this Friday through Sunday at Rice Media Center and May 21-23 at the Museum of Fine Arts.

“We want people to see who Palestinians are and what Palestine is on our own terms, who we are as people, and to dispel some of the misinformation. We’re not terrorists,” H.P.F.F. Founder Hadeel Assali says.

And it’s not just a film festival.

“There’s a photography exhibit on Friday, a concert on Saturday, a panel discussion with a guest director on Sunday, and that’s just the first weekend,” teases Assali. “We’re showcasing fresh, rarely heard perspectives and creative inspiration that you will find both educational and entertaining.”

The entertainment and education start tonight with traditional dance performances, the Havikoro break-dance troupe, graffiti artistry and DJ Lotus and Joe B. of the Rebel Crew.

The opening night of the film festival gets underway Friday.

“This year we felt compelled to open the festival with a spotlight on Gaza and one of the worst atrocities on the Palestinian people while also highlighting the persistence of the human spirit as you will see in the documentary 'Aisheen [Still Alive in Gaza].' We round off the night with a discussion with M-1 of Dead Prez, who traveled to Gaza last summer with the Viva Palestina convoy,” Assali says.

This year’s festival also offers a virtual Gaza checkpoint experience and the first-ever outdoor concert at Rice Media Center, featuring M-1 and Palestinian rap artist Sabreena da Witch.

“The first year of H.P.F.F. was almost an experiment. After three successful years, we know we have an obligation to the continued growth and success of HPFF,” Assali says. “For Palestinians and Arabs, it’s important to see positive images of ourselves on screen.”

This year’s films include Gaza Winter, 11 filmmakers' short films detailing the deaths of 1,417 Palestinians and 10,000 destroyed homes in the winter of 2009; Fatenah, the first Palestinian animated 3-D short by Ahmad Habash; Maria’s Grotto, an in-depth look into the honor killings of four women by Buthina Khoury; As the Poet Said, a documentary on the iconic Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish by Nasri Hajjaj; and The Time That Remains, absurd vignettes of daily life in Nazareth by celebrated Palestinian director Elia Suleiman.