Photo highlights and another massive thank you to everyone who supported our 2025 festival. Whether you volunteered or came as a guest, took home one of our t-shirts or shared #LeedsPFF2025 content on your story. We really appreciate you and the community that we’ve built. Community, inclusivity and education are at the heart of our initiative. A huge thank you to our volunteers who worked hard to make this year as accessible as possible, engaged with new audiences and reached out to our amazing guest speakers. Our festival is now over but remember to keep engaging with our Instagram to hear about our one-off events throughout the year❤️
Why is a film about 1936 making people this uncomfortable? Because it shows the truth about British colonial rule that our history books conveniently left out. Palestine 36 is packing out venues across Leeds because it refuses to be polite about the past. The audience isn’t just watching; they are bearing witness. Read why this film is becoming one of the defining moments of the festival.
Can a cinema screen be a frontline of resistance? It is not enough to simply watch. In the face of erasure, curation becomes a radical act. The European Journal of Media Studies looks at how three UK festivals are moving beyond passive viewing to create tangible, grassroots solidarity. This isn’t just "cultural engagement"—it is film as a survival mechanism. Read the full analysis on the mechanics of film activism in the European Journal of Media Studies: 🔗 Link in comments
Documenting the tragedy. The New Arab covers our fight to keep Hind Rajab’s memory alive.
THIS WAS MORE THAN A FESTIVAL. IT WAS A STATEMENT. When we programmed this year’s festival, we knew the stories were urgent. What we didn’t know was how loudly Leeds would answer. The numbers speak for themselves: 🚨 7 Sold Out Events 🚨 3 Near Capacity 📈 A Record-Breaking Year But statistics don't capture the feeling in the rooms. You didn't just buy tickets. You showed up to witness, to listen, and to stand in solidarity. From the silence of the documentaries to the heat of the debates, you proved that this city refuses to look away. To our filmmakers, our volunteers, and every single one of you who filled a seat: Thank you. Don't miss out next year. Join our mailing list (link in bio) to be the first to hear about 2026. Venues and partners include: Leedsfilmfest, Filmhubnorth, Hyde Park Picture House, St Lukes Cares, Mill Hill Chapel Headingley Heart, Seven Arts Leeds, University of Leeds, Otley Courthouse, Quaker Meeting House, St Chad's Parish Centre, Abu Bakr Scholarship Fund, Spark Social Justice, Helen Barnes Textile Artist, Artists Supporting Palestine, Mohamed Harb, M Alfarra, Ayman Eessa, Maisarart, Artist Nasseramer Hyde Park Art Club Zaytoun, Mick Marston, No Sweat UK. Film partners: @yallaparkourfilm @palestine36film @curzonfilm @arthood_entertainment @altitudefilmuk @journeymanpictures @gifwcinema @bfinetwork @voiceofhindrajab @annamariajacir @fajrona.film @areebzuaiter @dogwoof @autlookfilmsales @groundtruth.productions icarusfilms_ @reconsiderorg @coorigines_prod Guest speakers: Juman Quneis, Professor Paul Rogers, Wendy Cook, Janet Symes, Musheir El-Farra, Dr Robert Cohen, Kathryn Fitzsimons, Hanif Malik, Gavin McIntosh, Sarah Agha, Maryam Ghorbankarimi, Suesanne Samara, Ghassan Mustafa, Carol Burns, Joanna Mingham, Saba Siddiqui, Abed Alfarra Food partners: Abu Turkish Patisserie and Ecco Pizzeria #LeedsPFF2025
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/12/5/makeshift-movie-screenings-in-gaza-city-bring-children-out-of-the-ruin
Thank you to BBC Yorkshire (Radio Leeds) for interviewing us ahead of our screening of 'The Loud Silence' last night. Listen on BBC Sounds (skip to 3.17.20) to hear Juman's interview with Rima
Another sellout event and a very special evening on Friday night for Coexistence My Ass! @coexistencemyass is the real-life story of an Israeli diplomat turned comedian who uses humour to change minds and speak truth to power. Starring the sharp, hilarious and inspiring @noam_joon followed by our expert panel of speakers. 📸 @sumaiyyashafi Tickets available for our remaining events via link in bio #LeedsPFF2025
Three words: Why Leeds? We asked why our city is the perfect host for the Leeds Palestinian Film Festival. The answers speak volumes about community. Watch their three-word verdict! Are you coming to the festival? Let us know your three words for Leeds below 👇🏽 #LeedsIsReady LeedsPFF2025 #FilmFestival2025
Everything you need to know about our event on Thursday! This is the WORLD PREMIERE of a film rooted in a Leeds community. Film made by Juman Quneis, who is travelling from the West Bank to Leeds to introduce this first-ever screening, followed by discussion, food and community. Swipe through for the full story, schedule and details. Thurs 4 Dec @allhallowsleeds All Hallows Church, 24 Regent Terrace, Leeds LS6 1NP Limited tickets remaining - link in bio! #LeedsPFF2025
Women, Film & Resistance in Gaza - Final Call Join us TONIGHT for an unforgettable evening amplifying the voices and experiences of women in Gaza. • A specially recorded interview with Dr Shalh from Gaza • Three short films by and about women emerging from the past two years (2X UK PREMIERS) • Incredible panel line up (see prev post for all the details!) • BSL interpreted Thu 27 Nov • 7pm stage@leeds, University of Leeds, LS2 9JT Presented with @gifwcinema Limited tickets remaining online and at the door. We can’t wait to see you there❤️ #LeedsPFF2025
Palestine Film Festival Directors + Emeritus Prof. Paul Rogers: Why You Must Attend. See the essential stories. Engage the experts. Your ticket is your commitment The Leeds Palestinian film festival runs from the 12 November to the 6 December. 🎟️ Ticket link in bio 🎥: Cam Rolland and Edie Barnabas #LeedsPFF2025 #PalestinianCinema #WhatsonLeeds
Very Small Dreams - Official Trailer Etimad Washah | France, Palestine | 2025 | 21 mins “In a refugee camp in Gaza, women strive to preserve their dignity and health in inhuman living conditions, where even the most basic needs become unattainable dreams.” Join us for the UK Premiere, tomorrow night, as part of Women, Film & Resistance in Gaza. This event will be fully BSL interpreted @from.ground.zero @stageatleeds 📅 Thu 27 Nov 📍 stage@leeds, University of Leeds, LS2 9JT 🔎 what3words: ///effort.defeat.boats A vital, fiercely human film that centres women’s endurance, vulnerability and refusal to disappear. Don’t miss this premiere.
Palestine 1936. You need the context. Emiritus Professor Paul Rogers (UoB Peace Studies) unpacks the history. No filter, no sugarcoating. The essential background before our screening. Edie Barnabas asks the vital questions. 🎥 Cam Rolland and Edie Barnabas #LeedsPFF2025 #Palestine36 #PalestineHistory #GeoPolitics
TICKETS CRITICAL: TWO UK PREMIERES at stage@leeds on THURSDAY You are running out of time. The most exclusive event of the Leeds Palestinian Film Festival is THURSDAY NIGHT, and two of the short films are making their UK PREMIERE right here in at the University of Leeds. You cannot see this vital work anywhere else in the country. This screening of Women, Film & Resistance in Gaza is a profound act of witnessing—a testament to culture and survival filmed by and about women in Gaza, paying tribute to their determination to create cinema despite every loss. The Festival Directors have marked this as essential. The film world has marked it as exclusive. Your ticket purchase is not just admission; it is a direct act of witness and solidarity with the women continuing to create culture amidst crisis. 📅 Thursday, November 27th 📍 University of Leeds (stage@leeds) ⏰ 7 pm 🎟️ Tickets link in bio #UKPremiere #LeedsUniversity #GazaFilm #WomensCinema #LeedsPFF2025 #FilmFestival
UK Premiere - Hind Under Siege Trailer now live. This short film revisits the real phone call between the Red Crescent and six-year-old Hind Rajab, trapped alone in a car as violence intensified around her in Gaza. Hind Under Siege will be one of three short films at our Women, Film & Resistance in Gaza event on 27 November - a fully BSL-interpreted evening of film and discussion. Produced by @aidaamircani48 Directed by @naji_salameh Production by @fajrona.film 🎟️ Tickets via link in bio #LeedsPFF2025
LEEDS: You Delivered. Thank You for Proving Dialogue is Essential. Thank you to all who attended the screening and Q&A for 'There Is Another Way.' Your commitment to fostering hope and challenging the status quo ensured that this vital conversation took place in our city. You proved that silence is not an option. The discussion was raw, necessary, and exactly the purpose of this festival. But the conversation doesn't end there. We need your commitment again. If you believe in facing the truth, you must now attend the next event: Co-Existence, My Ass! This film trades hope for brutal honesty, following a comedian who uses satire to dismantle the polite fictions of peace. It's essential viewing. The hard questions start here in Leeds this Friday. Do not let the momentum fade. Secure your seat for the a likely provocative debate of the festival. Next Stop: Co-Existence, My Ass! 📅 Friday, November 28th 📍 Seven Arts, Chapel Allerton 🎟️ Ticket link in bio #LeedsPFF2025 #ThankYouLeeds #CoExistenceMyAss #FilmFestival #LeedsCommunity
Narrative films are vital, but the best documentaries are acts of resistance. Festival co-directors Jane and Frances discussed film choices. The filmmaker challenged us: Is fiction the only way to deliver empathy? Our answer is that these events prove the power of documentaries when they are uncompromising and personal. The films that ask the hardest questions are here: COEXISTENCE MY ASS: An explosive Q&A after the documentary that proves political comedy is the sharpest weapon. WOMEN, FILM AND RESISTANCE IN GAZA: Discussion & shorts focused on the urgent work of women documenting the fight on the ground. Don’t miss the essential conversation. 🎟️ Ticket links in bio 🎥 producers: Cam Rolland and Edie Barnabas #LeedsPFF2025 #LeedsInspired #FilmFestival #CoexistenceMyArse
LEEDS: Is 'Coexistence' a load of nonsense? We dare you to find out. If you're tired of polite dialogue and endless, pointless calls for 'harmony', this film is for you. Comedian Noam Shuster Eliassi traded activism for brutal, uncompromising satire, turning the concept of coexistence into a sharp joke. Come for the laughs, stay for the fight. THE SPEAKERS: Following the screening, we host a critical three-way conversation in Leeds with Dr. Robert Cohen, Kathryn Fitzsimons, and Hanif Malik. Expect challenge, not consensus. 📍 Seven Arts, Chapel Allerton. Thursday, 28th Nov, 7 PM. @sevensrtsleeds noam_joon @coexistencemyass @amber_fares @rachel_leah_jones rababhajyahya #CoExistenceMyAss #LeedsPFF2025 #ChapelAllerton #leedspalestinefilm
Who is Marwan Barghouti? Swipe to learn more Often described as the Palestinian Mandela, Marwan Barghouti remains one of the most influential and widely supported Palestinian political figures - even after more than two decades in Israeli detention. Our screening of Tomorrow’s Freedom on 27 November explores his political life, global resonance and the campaign for his release. Join us to dive deeper into his story and the wider struggle for Palestinian self-determination. 📍 Otley Courthouse 🕢 7:30pm 🎟️ Tickets via link in bio Presented with @otleycourthouse
The Loud Silence - Official Trailer On Thursday 4 December, filmmaker and journalist Juman Quneis returns from the West Bank to Leeds to introduce the premiere of her new documentary, created in the wake of October 7th and inspired by the quiet power of Women in Black’s silent protest. Through intimate conversations, the film traces how grief, faith, solidarity and resistance shape the women who stand in silence each week in Leeds. 📍 All Hallows Church, Leeds 🕖 7pm doors | 7:30pm start 🎟️ Tickets now available Presented with @leeds.women.in.black #LeedsPFF2025 #WomenResistance #PalestinianCinema #LeedsCinema #ProtestFilm
The Loud Silence - Premiere Screening Palestinian filmmaker and journalist Juman Quneis began this documentary in Leeds, after finding solidarity in a silent protest led by local @leeds.women.in.black Join us for an evening of film, food and conversation with the filmmaker herself - travelling from the West Bank for this UK premiere. 📍 All Hallows Church, Leeds 📅 Thu 4 Dec, 7:30pm (Doors 7pm) 🎟️ Tickets via link in bio Presented with @leeds.women.in.black
UK Premiere on Thursday - Hind Under Siege This short film recounts the real phone call between the Red Crescent and six-year-old Hind Rajab, trapped alone in a car while hiding from the genocide in Gaza. Told through the eyes of Red Crescent worker Rana Al-Faqih and those who witnessed the event, the film offers an unflinching, intimate portrait of courage, fear and the unbearable human cost of war. Hind Under Siege is one of three short films screening at our Women, Film & Resistance in Gaza event on 27 November - a fully BSL-interpreted evening of film and discussion. 🎟️ Tickets via link in bio Produced by @aidaamircani48 (Producer) Directed by @naji_salameh Film production company: @fajrona.film #LeedsPFF2025
Meet the Speakers for Women, Film & Resistance in Gaza Our panel brings together voices whose work spans film, activism, medicine and cultural storytelling: @sarahaghaonline , Dr Suesanne Samara, Dr Maryam Ghorbankarimi and Ghassan Mustafa Join us for an evening centred on women’s creative resistance in Gaza, featuring: – A specially recorded interview with Dr @ezzaldeen_shalh from Gaza – Short films by and about women navigating the last two years – A rich panel discussion led by our speakers – BSL-interpreted throughout 📍 stage@leeds, University of Leeds 🕖 27 November, 7pm 🎟️ Presented with the Gaza International Festival of Women’s Cinema @gifwcinema #LeedsPFF2025 #WomenInGaza #WomenInCinema #WhatsOnLeeds
Tomorrow’s Freedom - Guest Speaker Spotlight We’re honoured to welcome @musheirel Musheir El Farra - human rights activist, writer, filmmaker and Palestinian-British advocate based in Sheffield, originally from Khan Yunis. Author of Gaza: When the Sky Rained White Fire, Musheir’s work documents the lived realities of Palestinians during and after Operation Cast Lead. His films - including Shanshula and And Still They Dance - capture daily resistance, cultural endurance and life under attack. Hear him speak on 27 November at our screening of Tomorrow’s Freedom. 📍 Otley Courthouse, LS21 🕢 7:30pm 🎬 Full trailer on our Insta and YouTube 🎟️ Tickets available via link in bio Presented with @otleycourthouse @tomorrows_freedom_film #LeedsPFF2025 #PalestinianSolidarityYorkshire #PalestinianCinema #OtleyEvents
MOHAMAD ALFARRA. (Gaza). Alfarra is not only an artist but an educator with UNRWA. His drawings are the direct, unvarnished depiction of the lived experience under illegal blockade and genocide. He teaches art to children, enduring what he depicts. His work is the syllabus of survival. Support the artist and his work. Prints available for purchase in person from today (22 November). Opening: 4-7 pm, HEART, Headingley. @headingleyheart @artistssupportingpalestine @artist_m_h_alfarra #MohamadAlfarra #UNRWA #ArtInRuins #ArtForPalestine #Leeds
From canvas to cinema: Creativity Unleashed at St Luke's Cares! We didn't just paint last Thursday, we transformed an internal wall and then settled in for a screening. Massive thanks to the brilliant kids at St Luke's CARES for their dedication. Witnessing these young artists unleash their ideas to create a vibrant, lasting mural was seriously inspiring. The energy was electric. And after the paint dried? We kept the creative immersion going with our mini-cinema session. It was the perfect double-bill of physical expression and shared storytelling. Massive thanks to everyone involved for making this happen. After making the street art mural we enjoyed some delicious food, watched some short films exploring the history and variety of Palestinian street art. See a piece you love? Tag us in your favourite detail! #StLukesCares #CommunityArt #LeedsPFF2025 #LeedsCommunity #ArtProject
The origin story you weren't taught in school Professor Paul Rogers opened the sold-out premiere of Palestine 36 last night with a powerful reality check. The events of 1936 didn't end, they set the stage for everything happening right now. We’ve cut his 10-minute speech down to the vital 3 minutes you need to hear. Don’t scroll past this history. #Palestine36 #LeedsPFF2025 #Leeds
