Bristol Palestine Film Festival 2026

Arnolfini is delighted to partner once again with Bristol’s citywide celebration of Palestinian cinema and culture, which this year is themed around the idea of Testimony. Friday 27 November Citizen Osama 19:00 – 21:30 In northern Gaza, Osama Al-Ashi has become a chronicler of the war unfolding around him. A former artistic photographer, he now records destruction and suffering while trying to keep his wife and newborn child safe. Ahmed Hassouna’s intimate documentary looks beyond headlines to reveal the emotional toll of bearing witness, and the fragile persistence of family life, imagination and hope amid bombardment and deprivation. Saturday 28 November Who Killed Alex Odeh? 15:30 – 18:00 In 1985, Palestinian-American teacher, poet and civil-rights activist Alex Odeh was murdered by a bomb planted at his California office. Forty years later, nobody has been held accountable. Combining archival material, original reporting and the testimony of those closest to the case, this investigative documentary revisits a devastating political assassination and asks why justice has remained elusive. What begins as a murder investigation becomes an examination of political extremism, impunity and the silencing of Palestinian voices in America. Raise the Bar: Poems on Palestine 19:00 – 21:00 Raise the Bar proudly presents Poems on Palestine as part of Bristol Palestine Film Festival 2026. Featuring performances from British-Iraqi rapper and activist Lowkey, Palestinian poet and artist Haia Mohammed, Palestinian journalist and co-founder of We Are Not Numbers Ahmed Alnaouq, and British-Syrian writer and activist lisa minerva luxx. Hosted by poet, essayist and publisher of Out-Spoken Press Anthony Anaxagorou. Raise the Bar’s Autumn show at Arnolfini brings together four powerful writers and performers for a dynamic evening of poetry on Palestine. For full details of this year’s festival, please see Festival Programme 2026 – Bristol Palestine Film Festival