The London Palestine Film Festival (LPFF) returns this November, bringing a powerful selection of films that offer insights into Palestinian life, culture, and resistance.
The LPFF is an annual celebration of cinema on and from Palestine, showcasing films that explore the culture, history, and politics of Palestine. LPFF provides a platform for Palestinian filmmakers, bringing their stories to global audiences and fostering important conversations about identity, resistance, and the power of storytelling.
The festival opens on Friday 15 November at The Barbican with A Grain of Sand, a one-woman mixed-media performance starring Sarah Agha. The festival ends on Friday 29 November with the highly anticipated UK premiere of From Ground Zero, a collection of 22 short films made by Gazan filmmakers during the current conflict. These opening and closing films capture LPFF 2024’s mission to amplify Palestinian voices and present compelling narratives from the region.
The closing night will be a landmark event for LPFF, with From Ground Zero screening in cinemas across east, west, and south London. Directed by 22 filmmakers, the film offers an unprecedented look into life in Gaza, with stories that reflect the experiences, fears, and hopes of those living in the midst of conflict. The anthology film From Ground Zero will represent Palestine this year in the Oscar race for Best International Feature.
The screenings will take place at Genesis Cinema, Riverside Studios and Sands Film Studio, bringing this crucial work to audiences across the capital.
“Founded in the late 90s, the annual two-week film festival continues to create spaces of discussion,” said Khaled Ziada, Founder and Director of London Palestine Film Festival. “Each edition spotlights stories of political realities as experienced by Palestinians, both at home and in the diaspora, through the creative lens of cinema.
“The London Palestine Film Festival 2024 programme is a curated selection of recently released titles alongside favourites from throughout the years. Given the urgent circumstances in the ongoing war, we open with an exclusive live performance based on true events.
“In A Grain of Sand, theatre director Elias Matar presents an experience where imagination is crucial to navigate the violence. Closing this year’s festival, we will have a simultaneous multi-cinema screening of From Ground Zero, a portmanteau of 22 films made in Gaza over the past year. These two sessions bookend an eclectic selection of cinema from award-winning feature films to selections of shorts, all showing on screens across London.”
For the full 2024 programme and more details, visit www.palestinefilm.org.uk
