Film / News
Bristol Palestine Film Festival returns in December
Back for its 12th year, this year’s Bristol Palestine Film Festival (BPFF) runs over two weekends across six venues from December 2-11. And for the first time in the festival’s history, the programme includes a night of comedy. Mark Thomas, Nick Revell, and Esther Manito are the main attractions at the Stand-Up for Palestine fund-raiser at the Folk House on December 3. Proceeds will be divided between BPFF and MAP – a charity that provides medical aid for Palestinians.
Before that, the festival opens at the Arnolfini on December 2 with a screening of Boycott (pictured above), a documentary exploring the effect of US anti-boycott legislation on companies and individuals who choose to boycott Israel. This will be followed by a panel discussion about on the hotly debated issue of using boycott campaigns in the fight for justice, and the risks of anti-boycott legislation to activism in the UK. Panellists include film director Ken Loach; Selma Dabbagh, writer and COO of International Centre of Justice for Palestinians; Zeyn Mohammed, Palestinian Solidarity Campaign (PSC); and Dave Spurgeon, former chair of Bristol Anti-Apartheid Movement.
Other highlights among the ten features films and two programmes of shorts being screened include Alam (Watershed, Dec 11), a drama about Palestinian teenage life; feminist thriller Huda’s Salon (Watershed, Dec 9), from Golden Globe-winning Paradise Now director Hany Abu Assad, which was the Palestinian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 86th Academy Awards; and Eleven Days in May (Watershed, Dec 10) – a documentary co-directed by Michael Winterbottom about the 260 people (67 of them children) who lost their lives when Gaza was bombed by Israel for 11 days in May 2021. Most of the screenings will be followed by Q&As and discussions.
is needed now More than ever
Visit the BPFF website for the full programme and to buy tickets.
Main image from Boycott: BPFF
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