DOUGLAS FIELD relishes the hard-boiled language, satire and humour of the third and last of the Harlem trilogy
WITH the synchronised media overkill on the Ukraine war, you could be forgiven for thinking there was nowhere else in the world where brutal occupations are taking place. This year’s Leeds Palestinian Film Festival attempts to redress that media deficit.
How many of us today are familiar with the miseries and injustices of life for Palestinians after 55 years of illegal occupation, and how the Israeli occupation impacts on every aspect of daily life?
This year’s Leeds Palestinian Film Festival (November 10 to December 9 2022) shines a light on this barely mentioned occupation. In 10 events, the issue of Palestinian rights is highlighted at diverse venues across Leeds.
The programme includes debut Leeds screenings of four new films, including films by Palestinian, Israeli, British, and South African directors. There is a double bill of Mai Masri’s beautiful, inspiring films, plus discussion with campaigning journalist Victoria Brittain, followed by a Middle Eastern buffet.
ANDY HEDGECOCK, MARIA DUARTE and ANGUS REID review Synthetic Sincerity, Our Hero, Balthazar, Heartstopper Forever, and A Year In London
RITA DI SANTO takes us through the prize winners, and takes the temperature of a festival that prioritised narratives of exile, state violence and class division
LEO BOIX, ANDY HEDGECOCK and MARIA DUARTE review Dreamers, It Was Just An Accident, Folktales, and Eternity
TOM STONE sings the praises of one of the oldest open-air festivals in Britain


