“To make art is to say we are here” - Leeds Palestinian Film Festival returns
From 13 November to 6 December, Leeds Palestinian Film Festival will mark its 12th year by bringing more than three weeks of film, conversation and art to nine venues across the city. Leeds Palestinian Film Festival’s purpose is to help keep Palestinian culture alive through great cinema and good conversation, and a line by the celebrated Palestinian artist Sliman Mansour neatly provides the theme for this year’s programme: “To make art is to say we are here.”
Leeds Palestinian Film Festival began in 2015 with just six films and has been expanding ever since, with more than 1,400 people attending last year’s events. It continues to be run by volunteers, who gave over 600 hours last year to make it all happen. The festival also offers the chance to buy Palestinian produce, with around £4,000 raised by last year’s stalls, and every penny goes straight to Palestinian craftspeople and charities. The same can be expected this year, alongside plenty of food, from refreshments at the Land of Canaan screening to Palestinian food after the evening with Taqi.
The festival opens at Hyde Park Picture House on Friday 13 November with Life Support, a documentary that presents the first-hand accounts and video diaries of doctors who worked in Gaza, followed by a discussion with the director and guests. The next day brings the UK premiere of Conversation with the Sea, a family drama about a 60-year-old man in Jerusalem who is ordered to pay off a debt supposedly owed by his son, who drowned decades ago, which is screening in partnership with Leeds International Film Festival. On Thursday 3 December, street artist Taqi Spateen returns to Leeds, two years after painting a mural at East Street Arts, for an evening at All Hallows Church about the “powerful stories written on our walls”.
The festival closes on Sunday 6 December at Clothworkers’ Hall with short films by 25 women who have spent nine months training as filmmakers in Gaza, despite constant power cuts and limited equipment.
There’s plenty more in between, from a live podcast recording with poets Leyla Barakat and Ace Ambrose at Wharf Chambers to screenings in Otley, Headingley and Chapel Allerton. A couple of the films contain distressing scenes which some people may find upsetting, and one includes racist language, so check the content notes before you book.
Find the full programme and ticket info at www.leedspff.org.uk.