The annual festival’s 2025 edition showcases some of this year’s most anticipated new releases reflecting on Palestine.
The London Palestine Film Festival (LPFF) is set to present the UK premieres of two new works, Once Upon a Time in Gaza and The Mission, as part of its ongoing 2024 programme celebrating contemporary Palestinian cinema.
The first premiere, Once Upon a Time in Gaza, will screen on Thursday, November 20, at Barbican Cinema 1. Directed by filmmakers Tarzan and Arab Nasser, the film follows Yahya, a young student whose friendship with Osama—a charismatic falafel chef running a covert drug operation—draws him into a dangerous double life. When a corrupt police officer’s actions trigger a tragic crime, Yahya is forced to confront violence and moral reckoning in a city oscillating between hope and devastation.
On Sunday, November 23, Curzon Soho will host the UK premiere of The Mission, a searing documentary by The Gaza Collective and director Mike Lerner. The film captures British-Iraqi surgeon Dr Mohamed Tahir during his third humanitarian deployment to Gaza, documenting the unfiltered reality of working in collapsing hospitals under extreme pressure. Filmed by two members of his medical team, the documentary highlights the emotional and moral toll of frontline medical care during crisis. A conversation with Dr Tahir and Lerner, moderated by journalist and filmmaker Myriam Francois, will follow the screening.
Running until November 28, the London Palestine Film Festival continues to showcase films that explore the artistic depth and political urgency of Palestinian storytelling. Screenings and discussions are taking place across multiple venues, including Genesis Cinema, Barbican Cinema, Riverside Studios, ICA, Curzon Soho, Sands Film Cinema Club and FACT Liverpool.
The programme features a mix of documentaries, shorts, and narrative films, from the SkatePal double bill opening the week to the closing-night presentations of All That’s Left of You and a curated shorts session titled Bearing Witness. Throughout its schedule, LPFF offers audiences a platform to engage with diverse narratives that illuminate individual and collective experiences from Palestine and the wider region, reinforcing its role as a vital space for cultural dialogue and cinematic expression.
