Films of Resistance is more than a fundraising initiative for Palestine within the art space. It is a decentralised solidarity movement that aims to reinvest in the very Palestinian filmmakers, creatives, and artists whose works are platformed at their events.
Formed in 2023, after the 7 October attack, by a diverse group of art critics, filmmakers, and programmers based in London, Films of Resistance “wanted to be in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle but felt there were so many dark images and not a lot of focus on the amazing Palestinian culture,” Maria, an organiser, explains to The New Arab.
“We were trying to find ways to support cultural resistance, a cultural intifada, and give space to the amazing diversity of contemporary films,” she adds.
This weekend, the group’s second large-scale fundraising event in London will be hosted by Palestine House and is called Existence as Resistance.
“We were working with the idea of a culture and people that are systematically being destroyed,” says co-organiser and filmmaker Bruno Atkinson. “We were just interested in exploring different ways in which existence can define an act of resistance – an affirmation of presence.”
The multi-room exhibition will showcase a selection of narrative drama, documentary, archive, comedy, moving image, and forensic films to highlight the breadth of Palestinian storytelling from those within Palestine and the diaspora, as well as the history of Palestinian resistance against Israeli occupation.
The event will also feature From Gaza to Jenin, an exhibition of children’s artworks from two regions of Palestine, separated by the military, economic, and iron wall blockade: Gaza and Jenin refugee camp
Among the films being shown are Kamal Aljafari’s A Fidai Film (2024), Mona Benyamin’s Trouble in Paradise (2018), Mahdi Fleifel’s 20 Handshakes for Peace (2014), Dima Hamdan’s Blood Like Water (2023), and Diaa Lagan’s and Mohanad El-Masri’s GAZA.MP4 (2024); Larissa Sansour’s Soup over Bethlehem (2006); and Forensic Architecture’s When it Stopped Being a War: The Situated Testimony of Ghassan Abu-Sittah (2024).
These filmmakers have also proved integral to the team with their perspective on how Films of Resistance should operate.
“Filmmakers have been super supportive throughout, and that’s been amazing,” Maria explains. “We’ve also asked filmmakers how they see this initiative, what we should fundraise for, and what they think politically – and that’s been an interesting journey.”
“People’s opinions differ a lot; some people find it hard to speak about film now, while others see there being a war of storytelling. How do you fight genocide? You fight genocide with culture. As long as you can’t erase culture, you continue to exist.”
As a decentralised initiative, the group invites collectives and individuals across the world to arrange film screenings and events with Films of Resistance support, which, so far, have included screenings in Czechia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Portugal, Scotland, Sweden, the US, and all over the UK.
Collectively, Films of Resistance has raised over £5,600, and 96% of funds have gone towards supporting cultural initiatives such as Jenin Cultural Centre with film equipment, Palestinian films in production, and Palestinian filmmakers directly.
“There are so many aid fundraisers, and that’s super important, but we’re trying to fundraise specifically for culture and film funds because that’s the feedback we’ve received consistently: it’s hard to find the money to make Palestinian productions,” says Bruno. “That’s why you end up having co-productions with ten different countries involved, and that comes with a load of problems because you have different producers wanting different things.”
Films of Resistance has a committee of Palestinian film professionals who review scripts for potential screenings and advise on events, but they hope the initiative could grow into a film production company that could help the next generation of Palestinian filmmakers, too.
“We’re keen to continue strengthening our relationship with Palestinian filmmakers, so if that manifests itself into becoming a more established production company, that would be amazing,” says Bruno. “And a bigger number of international screenings, on a bigger scale, would be amazing too.”
Tickets for the event this weekend are available for purchase here.
[Cover photo: Interior of Palestine House, courtesy of Palestine House]
Hanna Flint is a British-Tunisian critic, broadcaster and author of Strong Female Character: What Movies Teach Us. Her reviews, interviews and features have appeared in GQ, the Guardian, Elle, Town & Country, Mashable, Radio Times, MTV, Time Out, The New Arab, Empire, BBC Culture and elsewhere
Follow her on Instagram: @hannainesflint
