All donations raised from this year’s festival will be shared between two initiatives dedicated to supporting Palestinian filmmaking and filmmakers: FilmLab Palestine, based in Ramallah, and the children’s animation workshop My Story Became a Film in Gaza.
FilmLab Palestine’s mission is “to boost film production and viewership in Palestine by providing the ideal space for filmmakers to convene, evoke learning, exchange experiences, inspire one another, produce film art, while exposing viewers to a diverse repertoire of films.”
My Story became a Film’s founder, Haneen Muhammad Koraz, said: “I deeply believe that every person has the right to express himself freely, and that art making and learning cartoon films is one of the means of free expression, audio-visually, for all segments of society. I tried to change the reality, even if just a little, for the children and women in the tents and I have conducted workshops specifically for children. Children and women draw, color, discuss, play, learn using the photography program, photograph scenes, write stories that express their suffering and reality, draw cartoon characters, and record their voices on film. They have created many cartoon films.”
Due to storm Darragh, Aida Returns has been rescheduled for Friday 13 December at 1800.
Also, The Watershed has added three additional screenings of The Teacher on Friday 13, Saturday 14, and Sunday 15 December. Book now…
Time: 17:45 - 20:15
Location: Easton Community Centre, Kilburn St, BS5 6AW
Film and discussion. A father and his estranged son must come together to hand-deliver his daughter's wedding invitations to each guest as per local Palestinian custom, in this rousing family drama from Annemarie Jacir (When I Saw You).
Time: 19:00 - 20:30
Location: Curzon (Clevedon), BS21 6NN
Our friends at Curzon are hosting an evening of short films from the revolutionary period of Palestinian cinema from 1968, curated by filmmaker and artist Saeed Taji Farouky. With exhibition, snacks and Q&A.
Time: 14:00 - 16:45
Location: Arnolfini, BS1 4QA
A diverse tapestry of short films by Gazan filmmakers, brought together by director Rashid Masharawi, that illustrate the resilience of creative life of Gaza in a time of war.
Time: 19:30 - 21:30
Location: Arnolfini, BS1 4QA
An evening of live music with the brilliant and multi-talented Palestinian singer-songwriter Reem Kelani, with Bruno Heinen on piano.
Time: 22:30 - 03:00
Location: Strange Brew, Fairfax St., BS1 3DB
Club night with Simo Cell (Paris), Jeneen (Palestine/London) and Nadha (Lebanon/Bristol). Raising money for Gaza children's animation project 'my story became a film'.
Time: 14:10 - 16:45
Location: Watershed, BS1 5TX
A Palestinian school teacher (struggles to reconcile his risky commitment to political resistance with his emotional support for one of his students and the chance of a new relationship with a volunteer worker.
Time: 18:00 - 20:15
Location: Palestine Museum and Cultural Centre, 27 Broad Street, BS1 2HG
Join us for a special evening combining cinema and culinary delights, celebrating the richness of Palestinian food and olive oil culture and the spirit of sustainability.
Time: 19:45 - 21:25
Location: The Cube, BS2 8JD
Our shorts evening features six short films exploring different aspects of Palestinian life, culture and resistance. Featuring An Orange from Jaffa, Voice Notes from Palestine, Mar Mama, Dear Child II, No Words and The Deer's Tooth.
Time: 19:45 - 21:25
Location: The Cube, BS2 8JD
Documentary film exploring the continuing endurance of Gaza as a territory and a people despite the successive military assaults, occupation and blockade by Israeli forces.
Time: 19:30 - 21:10
Location: Palestine Museum and Cultural Centre, 27 Broad Street, BS1 2HG
Feature-length sci-fi documentary that explores the rich history of the city of Lyd in Palestine/Israel, and dares to ask the question: what would the city be like had the Israeli occupation of Lyd never happened?
Time: 18:30
Location: Screen 1, The Little Theatre, St Michaels Place, Bath BA1 1SF
Heartbreakingly beautiful documentary explores the possibilities of facing and healing trauma for Palestinians living under Israeli occupation. With Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi and Holocaust survivor Dr Gabor Maté.
Time: 19:30 - 21:35
Location: Arnolfini, BS1 4QA
A double bill of sci-fi and experimental film featuring an Arabic language opera and an exploration of intergenerational trauma in a derelict mansion.
Time: 17:40 - 20:05
Location: Watershed, BS1 5TX
Hard-hitting award-winning drama debut that follows two Palestinian refugees willing to risk everything to escape their precarious lives in the Athens underworld.
Time: 15:00 - 16:30
Location: Watershed, BS1 5TX
A time-travelling Lebanese woman, Leila, visits the women’s resistance throughout the twentieth century, joining with Lebanese and Palestinian women throughout time.
Time: 19:45 - 21:45
Location: The Cube, BS2 8JD
A moving documentary on the life of imprisoned Palestinian political leader Marwan Barghouthi. If given a chance could Barghouthi unite the Palestinians and pave the way for an inclusive, democratic and peaceful future?
Time: 13:30 - 15:50
Location: Arnolfini, BS1 4QA
Heartbreakingly beautiful documentary explores the possibilities of facing and healing trauma for Palestinians living under Israeli occupation. With Ahed Tamimi and Dr Gabor Maté.
Time: 17:00 - 19:15
Location: Watershed, BS1 5TX
When their father passes away leaving a large sum of money in the bank, two sisters put their differences aside and join forces against Sharia law, according to which their brother has the right to take double what they are entitled to.
Time: 18:00 - 20:00
Location: Watershed, BS1 5TX
After her mother Aida’s passing, director Carol Mansour meets friends in Beirut willing to carry Aida’s ashes back to the place of her birth: Jaffa, Palestine. The film is a sometimes comedic exploration of family, loss and grief, and a poetic nod and affirmation to all those exiled Palestinians forbidden from returning to their hometowns, even after death.
