“Something I realised working in this field [film programming] is that across the Arab world, the most prolific community that creates films is the Palestinian community,” Abla Kandalaft one of the co-organisers of the new initiative Films of Resistance, tells Dazed. “Last year, I put together a season called Arab Women Filmmakers, and I had to leave out some Palestinian films because they would have made up 80 per cent of the programme. Palestinians churn out so many films because they’re incredibly crafty at filmmaking, but also as a way to resist annihilation.”

Started by Kandalaft, Maria Kruglyak and Bruno Atkinson amongst other successful, Films of Resistance is a global film screening initiative to spread knowledge of Palestinian cinema and culture through documentaries and fictional short films. Since October 7, when Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis, roughly 37,658 Palestinians have been killed by Israel’s military onslaught at the time of writing. While it’s easy to believe that this “conflict” began on October 7, Israel has been displacing and killing Palestinians since the Nakba in 1948, and Films of Resistance offers invaluable historical context on the past 57 years of Israeli occupation and the prior British colonial rule.

“When we were conversing with Palestinian activist organisers, they would tell us that they didn’t need money because none of it was getting in,” Atkinson tells Dazed. “Loads of people are raising money at the moment, and that’s great, but our main focus is getting people talking, highlighting Palestinian filmmakers and directors, and amplifying their voices.”

What makes this initiative particularly exciting is the fact it’s decentralised, meaning Kruglyak, Atkinson, and Kandalaft do not own it. Instead, the initiative encourages people to host their own Films of Resistance screenings, with the support of Kruglyak, Atkinson and Kandalaft to spread Palestinian cinema far and wide. The first screening, featuring five short films by Palestinian directors, will take place on June 14 at Genesis Cinema in London. Further screenings are being hosted in Portugal on June 20 and Sweden on June 18. Tickets sales will be used to provide film equipment and resources for filmmakers in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Below, the organisers talk us through the powerful short films and documentaries they’re showcasing at their London screening.

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The Silent Protest (2019), dir. Mahasen Nasser-EldinThe Silent Protest, 2019 (Film still)

The Silent Protest (2019), dir. Mahasen Nasser-Eldin

“On 26 October 1929, Palestinian women launched their women’s movement. Approximately 300 women from all over Palestine converged in Jerusalem. They held a silent demonstration through a car convoy to protest the British High Commissioner’s bias against Arabs during The Buraq Uprising. This is their story from that day.

“Directed by Jerusalem-born filmmaker Mahasen Nasser-Eldin, who specialises in creating historical narratives using audio and visual archives to give new life to forgotten figures and celebrate those on the margins, this short offers us an insight into the Palestinian women’s liberation movement in the context of British colonial oppression.”