LONDON PALESTINE FILM FESTIVAL 2026
NOVEMBER 13 - 27
GAZA SHORTS: SURVIVAL AMONG THE RUINS +GUIDED DISCUSSION
ALL THAT APPEARS SOLID IS BUILT ON BLOOD | WHAT THE SAND REMEMBERS | THE SCENE | HASSAN
tuesday 17 NOVEMBER | 18:20
CURZON HOXTON, 55 Pitfield St, London N1 6BU
This session explores the realities of survival in Gaza, from mass graves and destroyed homes to forced displacement and the search for lost family. Across devastated landscapes and fractured families, four films foreground the resilience of those surviving, reflecting on what remains amid destruction and how connections to people and places are preserved.
all that appears solid is built on blood (Izdihar Afyouni and Gelare Khoshgozaran, 2026, 11’)
Footage documenting the making of a mass grave in Khan Younis, Gaza, is slowed frame by frame, re-shot on film and soaked in human blood. Overlaid with reflections by Gazan writer and poet Ahmad Al-Shaer and music by Palestinian artist Bint Mbareh, all that appears solid is built on blood becomes an experience of time that pays homage to the militant time-keeping of Gazan journalists and documentarians – witnessing and documenting destruction.
UK Premiere: What the Sand Remembers (Mahmoud Abu Ghalwa, 2025, 27')
During the war on Gaza, a lone survivor grapples with the unbearable weight of grief. His entire family was killed in an airstrike — some buried, others still lost beneath a sand dune. Over the course of a year, he navigates the material and psychological remains of survival, memory and the haunting absence of closure.
UK Premiere: The Scene (Lana Komsany, 2025, 13')
Set against a war-ravaged landscape, where the sounds of violence linger in every corner, a Palestinian family fights to survive amidst the debris of their cherished home. The atmosphere is thick with dust and sorrow; even in the face of daunting obstacles, they discover an unyielding strength within one another. As bombs fall and the earth trembles beneath them, the family holds steadfast to the fragments of their existence, determined to uphold their connections and their humanity.
Hassan (Muhammad Al Shareef, 2025, 30’)
Seventeen-year-old Hassan's attempt to find flour during Gaza's starvation ends in detention and forced displacement, separating him from his family. After losing his younger brother and father, he spends fifteen months alone journeying from north to south Gaza, driven by the hope of returning home and finding his mother and sister.
Followed by a guided discussion with Hekayyatna, an organisation all about community and storytelling. They host events in London and beyond, where each gathering unpacks a big question through stories and activities. Part workshop, part salon, part conversation. At every Hekayyatna event, get ready to learn something new, meet someone new and try something new.