We were amazed and inspired to learn that not one, but two Film Festivals have taken place in the displacement camps of southern Gaza this year.

We bring you a selection of the best films screened at both festivals: Creators Despite Displacement - the Al-Quds (Jerusalem) International Film Festival marking its 7th year – and Al-Aouda Festival, in its 8th year.

With equipment frequently destroyed, many of the poignant films depicting perspectives and feelings on the current reality were shot on phones. Red carpets were rolled out among the tents and rubble.

How do Palestinians express their identity and resistance through their culture?

This sci-fi documentary shares multiple pasts, presents, and futures of the city of Lyd in Palestine/Israel. From the perspective of the city herself, the viewer is guided through the lifespan of a five-thousand-year-old city and its residents.

(Arabic English subtitles)

Rami Younis & Sarah Emma Friedland, Palestine, UK, US, 2023 78mins

Doors open: 6.45pm
Start: 7pm

Presented with Otley Film Society.

Visit our website for more information.

Yallah Gaza by Roland Nurier, a French director, was filmed before the war swept devastation over the strip; in fact its first screening in Paris was scheduled for 4th October last year.

Yallah Gaza attempts to understand how people can live almost normally when the Occupier refuses them the most elementary human rights. The film records their daily struggle that keeps despair at bay and how they pass this flame, their culture and their land, onto generation after generation. Yallah Gaza bears witness to their “fury to live”.
(English French, Arabic, English Subtitles)

In this Palestinian classic, the mayor of a West Bank village wants his son to adhere to Palestinian tradition in his upcoming wedding. Custom conflicts with the Israeli military curfew. Against expectations, the father gets clearance from the occupying governor. But there's a catch: the governor and his Israeli colleagues have to be on the guest list…..

After-film discussion with Fred Coker, founder member of the Workers’ Film Association in 1974, who has carefully kept the original reels of the film.

Michel Khleifi, Palestine, Belgium, France, 1987 1hr 40mins

Explores themes of loss, trauma, and the quest for justice under occupation.

(Arabic, Hebrew, English, English subitiles)

Maurizio Benazzo, Zaya Benazzo, USA 2023, 1 hr 43mins

Presented with SPARK Social Justice.

At the end of the film there will be the opportunity to join a facilitated discussion.

Doors will open at 6pm, film starts 7pm

Visit our website for more information.

Join Natalie Quatermass for a family-friendly, creative workshop, where everyone can have the chance to show their love and solidarity for Palestine.

Craft activities, storytelling and creative writing for everyone! A chance to come together and celebrate Palestinian culture.

All children must be accompanied by a responsible adult at all times.

11am Refreshments
11.30-1.30 Workshop

ONLY 14 PLACES AVAILABLE ON THIS WORKSHOP!

Visit our website for more information.

Join us for a relaxing, informative day with a delicious simple Palestinian buffet lunch and good company.

Workshop tutor: Helen Barnes, an artist who has worked in textiles teaching and exhibiting works for many years and will ensure that you get the most out of the session.

All profits from the workshop will be donated to the Bethlehem Embroidery Co-operation.

Doors open: 10am
Start:10.30am

ONLY 16 PLACES AVAILABLE

Visit our website for more information.
 

With international reporters locked out, Palestinian journalists have made huge sacrifices to keep the world informed of the genocide in Gaza. More media workers have been killed by Israel since October 7 than in any other conflict in modern history.

Using film, presentation and discussion, Palestinian journalists Juman Quneis and Ahmed Alnaouq will tell us about the crucial work that journalists do in Gaza and the West Bank to keep the world informed of the unprecedented killing and destruction.

When two young American Jews raised to unconditionally love Israel witness the way Israel treats Palestinians, their lives take sharp left turns. They join a movement of young American Jews battling the old guard to fight for Palestinian equality and redefine Judaism’s relationship with Israel, revealing a deepening generational divide over modern Jewish identity.

(English)

Erin Axelman & Sam Eilersten, USA 2023, 1hr 24 mins

Presented with Leeds University PSC.

Speaker: Anne Caldwell, University Teaching Fellow