In Muayad Alayan’s deeply moving drama Conversation with the Sea, 60-year-old Palestinian Kamal is ordered by an Israeli court to pay a large social security debt allegedly owed by his son, Wael. The catch: Wael drowned in the Red Sea decades ago, yet no official record of his death exists.

Forced to follow the only remaining lead to prove what happened, Kamal’s search unlocks memories of a vibrant Jerusalem of old, city once described as “an amusement park… as big as the whole world”, painting an intimate portrait of grief, family, and how encroaching occupation shapes every corner of an ordinary life.

This screening is in partnership with Leeds International Film Festival.