The Occupation of the American Mind takes an eye-opening look at this critical exception, focusing on pro-Israel public relations efforts within the U.S. Narrated by Roger Waters, lead singer of rock band Pink Floyd.
‘The Time That Remains’ is a semi-biographical drama written and directed by Palestinian director Elia Suleiman in 2009. It gives an account of the creation of the Israeli state from 1948 to the present by following strands of his and his father’s lives.
Balls, Barriers & Bulldozers is a documentary film about a women’s football tour to the West Bank in 2014. The tour aimed to build solidarity with women footballers in Palestine and for the UK teams (including Leeds based Republica women’s team) to learn about life under occupation.
In a period of such catastrophic human displacement in the Middle East, few people realise that the largest single refugee population in the world remains that of the Palestinians, ejected from their lands in 1948. This film shows how these long-term dispossessed and stateless people a largely forgotten reality.
Join us for an evening of film and conversation on the theme of ‘Sumud’ – literally ‘steadfastness’ – with three short films and a photographic exhibition of Sumud posters from the Separation Wall in Bethlehem.
Book Tickets
Book online via the Leeds International Film Festival website
Gaza Surf Club is being shown in collaboration with Leeds International Film Festival. We are pleased to be opening our Festival this year with this film. The event takes place at Leeds Town Hall in the Albert Room.
Also showing on Monday 13 November.
The world of Gaza’s surfing enthusiasts, where a formidable resilience pulses within a beleaguered population.
The Occupation of the American Mind takes an eye-opening look at this critical exception, focusing on pro-Israel public relations efforts within the U.S. Narrated by Roger Waters, lead singer of rock band Pink Floyd.
Lack of even the most basic firefighting equipment prompted the FBU to contact Palestinian firefighters several years ago. Now a new film traces what happened when one FBU member returned.
The Idol is a moving, defiantly uplifting biopic of Muhammad Assaf, the Gazan wedding singer who became a worldwide TV sensation in 2013.
Film director Leila Sansour returns to Bethlehem to make a film about her hometown, soon to be encircled by a wall.
This documentary by Israeli journalist Lia Tarachansky examines the collective Israeli denial about the expulsion and displacement of Palestinians in the wake of the 1948 war for independence.
This surreal black comedy made by Palestinian director Elia Suleiman records a day in the life of a Palestinian living in Nazareth, whose girlfriend lives several checkpoints away in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
The film follows two UK women’s football teams as they visit teams across the West Bank, even playing the Palestinian U19s team in the national stadium.
Shot over a period of 32 years, this documentary examines the human and political situation of Palestinian people from the years prior to the creation of Israel to the present day.
This lighthearted film chronicles the adventures of Muna, a single mother who leaves the West Bank with Fadi, her teenage son, with dreams of an exciting future in the promised land of small town Illinois.
This winning mix of documentary and clay-animation offers an unexpectedly humorous account of a West Bank town’s experience of the first Intifada, a subject that doesn’t usually generate a lot of laughs in cinema.
An uplifting story of Palestinian youth in the Gaza Strip on a quest to shatter the Guinness World Record for the most kites ever flown.
This documentary film is about a women’s football tour to the West Bank. It’s about football, and so much more.
An artist at heart, Maher, electrical engineer and former political prisoner wants to stage a contemporary dance performance in Ramallah. His family disapprove, money’s a problem and cultural problems intercede. Will he realise his dream despite barriers, both political and cultural? Toomas Jarvet’s Rough Stage employs breathtaking desert scenes and urban locations, set as a backdrop to Maher’s art.
A film about skateboarding in Palestine and The Idol, a moving, defiantly uplifting biopic of Muhammad Assaf, the Gazan wedding singer who became a worldwide TV sensation in 2013
The moving true story of an attempt to create dialogue and friendship between Israeli and Palestinian women, using the device of a rock band to help them cross physical, legal and cultural barriers. The women’s lives are deeply affected, in unexpected ways.
When Palestinians were expelled from their land in 1948, Israeli soldiers were accompanied by librarians as they entered Palestinian homes in many towns and villages. Their mission was to collect as many valuable books and manuscripts as possible.
While many young people dream of leaving Gaza, Mohamed Jabaly, 24, wants to help. He aspires to make films, despite the lack of water and electricity, and closed borders that are part of “normal” everyday life under the seven-year Israeli blockade of Gaza.
