No Pride in Genocide

Dec 2, 3pm GMT, 10am EST

Queer Cinema for Palestine is screening in London for the first time. As we witness genocide and ethnic cleansing with the support of the British state, now, more than ever, is the time to amplify queer Palestinian voices and those of allies. Come and join us.

The programme includes compelling short films from queer Arab filmmakers and discussion with the filmmakers and Palestinian activists. We’ll discuss British complicity in Israeli apartheid and war crimes, the silencing of Palestinians in the cultural sphere and the cultural boycott call.

The event holds space for the deep interconnection between the global queer liberation and Palestinian liberation movements. We are united together in the fight against systems of colonialism and imperialism, which oppress us all.

Dec 4, 7pm EST

How can family memories inform solidarity? How can avant-garde voices engaging the past contribute to activism today? How can private archives queer public histories? How do yesterday’s photographs become tomorrow’s pictures? Foggy is a screening of recent short films that stage hybrid acts of montage, juxtaposition, re-enactment and dialogue, exploring the theme of solidarity as we make our way together through the fog.

Dec 5, 7pm CET, 1pm EST

Join us as we take a look through the eyes of three Palestinian artists. The programme includes an introduction to the Gaza Strip as a microcosm for the failure of civilisation, a journey across the heavily militarised Sinai Peninsula, and a portrait of masculine performativity in East Jerusalem.

After the screening, stay for a conversation between filmmakers Basma al-Sharif, Shadi Habib Allah, and Jumana Manna. The discussion will be moderated by artist and writer Bassem Saad.

Dec 6, 6:30pm PST, 9:30pm EST

Vines Art Festival is based on the unceded territories of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Səl ̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) and xwməθkwəy̓ əm (Musqueam) Nations. These are lands that, like Palestine, have been deeply impacted by settler colonial violence. We emphasize our solidarity with Palestinians through sharing an intergenerational program that uses movement, music, and storytelling as a means to challenge settler colonial narratives while reclaiming roots and place. An in-person event at grunt gallery will feature a shortened film screening, panel discussion, and additional films by Rana Nazzal. The full program featuring Edzi’u, Jamelie Hassan, Hamidreza Jadid, Eddy van Wyk, Tʼuyʼtʼtanat-Cease Wyss, Sobhi Zobaidi, and Alize Zorlutuna, will be available to screen online from Dec 6–10.

Vines is an arts organization that is responsive to and nurturing of artists that are working toward land, water, and relational justice. Founded in 2015, Vines supports marginalized artists in developing their work, while also hosting an annual festival and year-round events. Vines brings imagination into everyday spaces by presenting work for free in populated public spaces in Vancouver and throughout the province. We advocate for artists’ well-being and center anti-oppressive community care without bureaucracy.

Dec 7, 8pm CET, 2pm EST

A curated collection of 5 Queer Palestinian short films dubbed The Fashion Programme, with (hyper) visibility as a means of self-fashioning and collective expression.

1) Sharif Waked, CHIC POINT (5 mins)

2) Elias Wakeem, HOMECOMING QUEENZ (11 mins)

3) Trashy, ERRORVISION (7 mins)

4) Bashar Murad, ANTENNE and MASKHARA (4 mins each)

5) Hazar Jawabra, BODY TONES (2 mins)

December 8, 7pm (EET)/12pm (EST)

The program Letters of Resistance presents videos that are in themselves ways to navigate the tremendous societal pressure on queer individuals from Arab-speaking countries. Using music, irony, and intergenerational dialogues, these videos narrate a story of queer love, creativity, and resistance. As Soha Becharra phrases it in Omar Gabriel’s film, whether for gender and sexuality rights or against colonial occupation, struggles for liberation are interconnected, “My fight for the liberation of south Lebanon is a stage of the open battle of life with and against society and the state. My journey with Juan has become a part of this battle.”

The Sursock Museum in collaboration with Festival Ciné-Palestine and Cinema al Fouad present a series of films and a recorded conversation in the framework of the second edition of Queer Cinema for Palestine.

Join us on Friday December 8 at 7pm EET for a screening of films and videos by Omar Gabriel, Sirine Fattouh, Sharon Hakim, and Bashar Mourad.

This event is free of charge, but due to limited capacity, please register here.

This program was developed and produced a few months before October 7, 2023. We believe it is still relevant. In view of the ongoing mass bombing taking place in Gaza by the Israeli occupation army, we want to stress again that no queer liberation is possible under occupation. #Cease_Fire_Now #Free_Palestine

Dec 9, 7pm KST, 5am EST

What is happening in Southern Hebron Hills? And what does a construction company such as ‘HD Hyundai’ have to do with it? <UNHEARD: Defend Masafer Yatta> will answer these questions as BDS Korea members and a filmmaker visit Palestine to find out. The local screening will also have a session of Q&A.

Dec 10, 3pm EST

The Embassy Cultural House is proud to present a screening of the powerful, experimental documentary, Photo Booth (2022) by Canadian director, activist, and artist John Greyson. To follow is a conversation between Greyson and Michael Lynk, Professor Emeritus in the Faculty of Law at Western University and Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territories from 2016 to 2022. The program will also include a screening of Montreal-based, Palestinian artist and teacher, Razan AlSalah’s 2017 short film, أبوكي خلق عمره ١٠٠ سنة، زي النك your father was born 100 years old, and so was the Nakba.

John Greyson’s ability to weave a tapestry of ideas, histories, emotions and potentials and Michael Lynk’s knowledge of and experience with Palestinian human rights issues will ensure both a compelling and critical discussion. In the words of the respected Palestinian poet, Mahmoud Darwish, “he thinks of the journey of thought across borders,” and we hope that this event will inspire further conversation of Palestine in London, Ontario, and abroad.