Shrewsbury Palestine Film Festival

We are pleased to announce the first Shrewsbury Palestine Film Festival, with films that represent different aspects of Palestinian life in the West Bank, Gaza and beyond.

The festival takes place over two days, with films, food, drinks and stalls selling Palestinian goods. Please bring cash for purchases. Book early to avoid disappointment.

Info: We kick off Friday with a specially prepared Palestinian meal. Sally Azzam, a Palestinian from Nazareth who works for the human rights charity Amos Trust, will prepare (with others) and present the meal and explain the work of the Amos Trust.
The meal will then be complemented with a film that explains the centrality of food to Palestinian culture (see below)

Info: “Food is the most precious part of Palestinian heritage.” Aisha Azzam and her husband started their family grain mill in Baqa’a refugee camp, Jordan, 35 years ago. She treasures her role in safeguarding culture by milling the wheat, grains, and herbs essential to Palestinian cuisine. Through food, Aisha traces the story of Palestinian displacement and rebuilding family and community in a refugee camp. “Food is what keeps us together as Palestinians.”

Info: Made by a Palestinian-Israeli collective, this Oscar-winning film shows the destruction of Masafer Yatta in the occupied West Bank by Israeli soldiers and the alliance which develops between Palestinian activist Basel and Israeli journalist Yuval. Followed by live link to Palestine for an update on the situation in Masafer Yatta.

Info: Many Palestinians in the West Bank still live in refugee camps, as a result of the 1948 Nakba. The film explores what it means to be a refugee through the story of a Palestinian family from Nur Shams refugee camp in Tulkarm, tracing their journey from their original village of Sabbarin. Q&A with film director via live link.

Info: Filmmaker Areeb Zuaiter's longing for her homeland returns when she sees a video of Gaza's young men practising parkour. Connecting with Ahmed, one of the parkour athletes, Areeb begins a journey through Gaza's ruined landscape (pre-2023 recent events).

Info: Since October 2023, Gaza has been sealed off from the world, except for one group, international doctors. Their first-hand accounts and visceral footage offer a rare testimony of the daily struggles of healthcare workers as they navigate bombed-out hospitals, dwindling supplies, starvation and the overwhelming influx of casualties.

Info: Shadi, a Palestinian architect who lives in Italy, returns to his family in Palestine to attend his sister's wedding in Nazareth, Israel and goes on a road trip with his estranged father, with amusing consequences.

Event venue & nearby stays

Shrewsbury United Reformed Church, near English Bridge, Shrewsbury, United Kingdom

Concerts, fests, parties, meetups — all the happenings, one place.

Get the app →