Richard Burgon MP for East Leeds opened the Festival at the Howard Assembly Rooms.
Abigail Marshal Katung, Lord Mayor of Leeds, addressed the closing event at the Civic Hall Banqueting Suite
Anne Caldwell, Leeds University Teaching Fellow, lecturer in European Jewish history, spoke after Israelism
Juman Quneis and Ahmed Alnaouq, Palestinian journalists, spoke about ‘Reporters Under Fire’
Fred Coker, founder member of the Workers’ Film Association and Maryam Ghorbankarimi, filmmaker and Senior Lecturer at Lancaster University, provided useful context at Wedding in Galilee
Mohannad Saad, Palestinian music producer, shed further light on Palestine and Israel after the screening of Lyd
Juman Quenis did a presentation and chaired a panel of young film-makers as part of Celebrating Palestinian Identity. She also spoke about film-makers in Gaza at the Red Carpet in Gaza event
Saeed Taji Farouky, award-winning documentary filmmaker and tutor, introduced three Palestinian heritage films at Hyde Park Picture House and provided fascinating political and cultural insights.
Yasmeen Soudani of SouqSounds did a presentation on ‘Foraging, Futurism and Land Justice – the Importance of Imagining Otherwise’ at the screening of Foragers
Sarah Agha, actress, presenter, writer and founder of the Arab Film Club;
Saied Silbak, Palestinian composer and oud player;
Abed Jubeh, cultural director;
Natalie Quatermass, theatre director and community artist;
all shared their thoughts on what ‘Culture as Resistance’ meant to them at our closing event.
