All are welcome to join the Westminster Holy Land Roundtable on an outing to the Phoenix Cinema, East Finchley, 52 High Rd, London, N2 9PJ, to see the London premiere of a ‘Gaza – A Story of Love and War’ on Sunday 8th September at 3.30pm.

There will be an in-person Q&A with director Mike Joseph after the film.

Synopsis

Two journalists meet to share stories online. Mike Joseph is Welsh, of Jewish parents, and unable to get into Gaza. Sami Abu Salem is Palestinian and unable to escape. Mike’s uncle fought in Jewish forces which destroyed Palestinian Burayr in 1948. Sami’s mother escaped from there to refuge in Gaza. Ten years earlier, Mike’s mother was expelled from Germany, to refuge in Wales. As they talk, a very personal history of the Palestinian Nakba is narrated, from 1948 to 2024. We hear remarkable connections in their stories. Their talk leads to a most unexpected question: Is coexistence possible? They dare to explore hope.

Ten days later comes Hamas’ bloody invasion. Israel responds laying siege to Gaza and killing tens of thousands.

So an exchange of impossible hopes is lost in the ashes of war and genocide.

The host and moderator of the Q+A will be Tim Llewellyn, of the Balfour Project. Tim was formerly the BBC Middle East Correspondent, amongst others covering the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon.

FROM THE GUARDIAN REVIEW

“Made on an infinitesimal budget but with compassion, empathy and consideration, this documentary is the product of an encounter between two journalists…The conversation they did manage to record before all hell broke out is moving and thought-provoking. The two men emphasise how much they have in common as children of trauma, rather than what might divide them.” The Guardian

Book Tickets: https://www.phoenixcinema.co.uk/movie/gaza-a-story-of-love-and-war-director-qa