We Are Here: Five films to watch at Leeds Palestinian Film Festival 2026
Lily Rodney introduces this year’s Leeds Palestinian Film Festival and five films that show the range of its programme.
On Friday 13 November, the Leeds Palestinian Film Festival returns for its twelfth year, taking its theme from the words of the late Palestinian artist Sliman Mansour: “To make art is to say we are here.”
This remarkable festival began in 2015, with just six films and a shoestring budget. Today, it is a fixture of the city’s cultural calendar, still run entirely by volunteers. It is continually celebrated and has been referred to by Sir David Hare as an ‘outstanding event’. Its intentions are to share stories from Palestinian filmmakers, speakers and artists, displaying a fuller picture of Palestinian life than the one we are usually shown. It is a privilege to have a festival like this on our doorstep.
The festival takes place from the 13th of November till the 6th of December. With so many events to choose from, it can be overwhelming to know where to start. Here are five films that show the range of this year’s programme :
Conversation with the Sea
Saturday 14th November, 1pm Hyde Park Picture House
Muayad Alayan’s fourth feature, a UK premiere presented with Leeds International Film Festival, follows Kamal, a Palestinian father in Jerusalem. An Israeli court orders him to pay a debt owed on behalf of his son, who drowned in the Red Sea two decades ago, and he finds there is no record his son ever died. His search for answers takes him back to family and friends who haven’t seen him in years, and becomes a story of grief, guilt and displacement.
Land of Canaan
Friday 20th November, 7pm, St Chad’s Parish Hall
At the heart of this documentary are Dr Nasser Abufarha, the Palestine Fair Trade Association and the farmers working to hold onto their land and livelihoods. Among them are olive trees more than a thousand years old. The film asks what is lost when the bond between people and their land is broken. It also asks what traditional knowledge and care for the earth can give to a community. This picture is suitable for families, supported by the National Geographic Society, and evokes a sense of justice and peace.
Gaza’s Twins, Come Back to Me
Friday 27th November, 7:30pm Seven Arts
Rania was separated from her newborn twins when they were evacuated to the south of Gaza while she remained in the north. Mohammed Sawwaf’s documentary follows the family over 16 months, as Jowan and Hamoud grow up and their mother waits and hopes for a reunion. It is an intimate portrait of displacement, motherhood and survival, and of the family ties that hold across distance.Rania was separated from her newborn twins when they were evacuated to the south of Gaza while she remained in the north. Mohammed Sawwaf’s documentary follows the family over 16 months, as Jowan and Hamoud grow up and their mother waits and hopes for a reunion. It is an intimate portrait of displacement, motherhood and survival, and of the family ties that hold across distance.
A Thousand Madleens for Gaza
Sunday 29th November, 7.30pm, Hyde Park Book Club
This collaborative documentary follows ordinary citizens as they prepare for and make the journey by sea to Gaza aboard the Madleen aid ship, alongside boats from the Flotilla Coalition, to draw attention to the blockade and the hunger it has caused. The ship takes its name from Madleen Kulab, a fisherwoman from Gaza, who urged the crew not to put themselves in danger and told them the ship showed her community that people around the world still stood with them.
The documentary puts solidarity into action at its centre, and honours the initiative of ordinary people who refused to wait for governments to act. It is a real-life account of what they did. Following the screening, there will be a special appearance from a member of the flotilla crew. This is a rare chance to hear first-hand what it means to set sail, and to ask the questions the film leaves with you.
Operation Recomply
Friday 4th December, 7pm, Heart Arts Centre
In August 2024, activists were arrested after an action at the Elbit Systems factory in Filton, England, which they said was aimed at disrupting the arms trade to Israel. The case led to a major counter-terrorism policing investigation, and by July 2025, 24 people had been arrested. This independent documentary, turns to the families left waiting at home as they campaign for justice, and live with uncertainty over the legal proceedings. It brings the festival’s themes closer to home, a UK story about protest, law and the personal cost of political action.
Behind every screening is a simple idea: that these stories deserve to be seen, and that the people in them deserve to be heard. This festival has spent twelve years making space for these momentous stories, and it relies on community and showing up for one another. So come along, bring a friend, and stay for the conversation afterwards. That to make art is to say we are here, and to watch it is to say, we’re listening.
These five films are just the start of what this festival has to offer. There are many more tremendous events across the programme, from live podcast recordings to a closing night of short films made by women in Gaza, and you can find the full programme here.
Words by Lily Arshi Rodney