Liverpool Arab Arts Festival: At Home ...

Join Liverpool Arab Arts Festival at the Bluecoat for a screening of At Home in Gaza and London, which follows the lives of people living in two locations separated by great political, economic and physical divides.

Mon 15 Jul, 6pm – 8pm

In 2016 a group of artistic collaborators in Gaza and London began a series of digital workshops as an alternative means to defy the blockade.

Out of the exchanges emerged a theatre piece where they appear together in a single space shared by audiences in both cities. The last live performances were in July 2018, connecting El Wedad Theatre with Battersea Arts Centre and the Everyman Theatre as part of LAAF’s 2018 festival in Liverpool.

At Home in Gaza and London follows the lives of people living in two locations separated by great political, economic, and physical divides. By using a mix of live-streaming and recorded video, a single performance space is created where artists work together. They occupy each other’s homes, streets and other social spaces. Sharing their everyday behaviour and concerns, as they dissolve into each other or become ghostly protagonists in the drama.

Many of the collaborators in the production are still living in Gaza. They have lost family members, friends, colleagues, and homes. One of them, Ayah Abdulrahman died of cancer in 2019, having received intermittent yet insufficient treatment due to the blockade on Gaza. All of the studios and theatres we worked in have been destroyed.

The event will share messages from the Gazan team and will try to connect to those we can live.

All ticket sales will go towards the project’s collaborators who are trying to survive unimaginable circumstances. Before the bombardment, disabled dancer Walid Tafesh was leading one of the few workshop programmes for children in Jabalia, North Gaza. Walid hopes to resume his work when it is possible.

Tickets: £11.55

Arab Film Night: At The Library x LAAF

Join Liverpool Arab Arts Festival and At The Library for a special summer evening of Arab film at the Plaza Community Cinema in Waterloo.

Chosen films, selected in collaboration with actress, writer, presenter and founder of The Arab Film Club, Sarah Agha, and women from “The Colour of Pomegranates”, will be announced in June.

Children’s activities will be available at Crosby Library, opposite to the cinema, during the screenings for those who need child care.

One Minute

One Minute is a programme of artists moving image curated by artist Kerry Baldry.

The One Minute programme is an eclectic mix of work by 40 international moving image artists at varying stages of their careers all with one thing in common that each video is within the time limit of 60 seconds.

A myriad of techniques have been employed from stop frame animation to superimposition which explore the boundaries of moving image.

There are 12 programmes to date and these have been screened worldwide. They feature diverse work by award winning filmmakers through to recent graduates.

Volumes 1 – 10 are now a part of the British Film Institute archives.

One Minute Volume 12 includes work by:

Eva Rudlinger, Tony Hill, Anna Mortimer, Mike Stubbs, Kevin Atherton, Jennet Thomas, Vicky Smith, Kunal Biswas, Kayla Parker and Stuart Moore, Louise Bourque, Steven Ball Artist A & Artist B, LMFS, Rob Flint, Alina Vasilchenko, Jonathan Moss, Gordon Dawson, Stuart Pound and Rosemary Norman, Lynn Loo, Katherine Meynell, Alessandra Arno, Simon Payne, Rastko Novakovic, Roz Mortimer, Guy Sherwin , Kerry Baldry, Nicole Zaaroura, Terry Flaxton, Andrew Vallance, Tessa Garland, Anne Colvin, Cyril Galmiche, Sam Meech, Ruxandra Mitache, sam renseiw, Hendrik van Oordt, Whitney Lynn, Kypros Kyprianou, Philip Sanderson, Susan Kouguell, Michael Mersereau, Nick Jordan, Leister/Harris, Guido Devadder, Michael Szpakowski.

Queer Fighters of Ukraine (extended cu...

Screening of the extended cut of Rebel Queers‘ Queer Fighters of Ukraine, with discussion.

Queer Fighters of Ukraine
Alex King and Angelika Ustymenko, 2023, 29 mins

Queer Fighters of Ukraine reveals the experiences of young, queer soldiers after over a year of full-scale war. Former LGBTQ+ activists and queer party DJs now in units near the frontlines share their perspectives on balancing queer identities with life in the military. This is an exclusive screening of the full, extended version of this film.

Doors open from 4.30pm, ready for the films to start at 5pm. This event will finish around 6.15pm.

Please be aware that the content of this film may be emotionally challenging, including references to: violence, mental health, death and suicide, homophobia and transphobia. This event is for attendees aged 18+.

This event is not affiliated with any political party.

About Rebels Queers

Before the full-scale invasion, subversive collective Rebel Queers would defy the heteronormative and patriarchal world by scrawling on the walls of Kyiv: ‘Queer Sex,’ ‘Make Queer Punk Again’. Today, they are focusing on creating short films to support queer people in the Ukrainian army.

Sara Sadik

Sara Sadik explores loneliness, love and empowerment through a fantastical blend of film, installation and games; creating worlds that sit between fiction and documentary.

In XENON PALACE CHAMPIONSHIP (2023), Sara creates a space that allows groups of men who experience prejudice and cultural alienation in everyday life to escape and find solidarity through the shared space and experiences of the Xenon Palace hookah lounge.

In her work, Sara often focuses on the unique sub-cultures developed by diasporas, particularly in her homeland of France. Born from a sense of displacement and altering behaviours to better assimilate into a new culture, fashion, music and language become symbols that connect individuals and create new collective identities and belonging. Here, Sara deconstructs and reimagines these symbols within a fictional world, as we follow a group of men gathered in a place that can hold the multiplicity of their own selves.

Fire In The Furnace

Fire In The Furnace is the debut full-length concert film from Liverpool-based blues rock band The Heavy North – filmed live at the group’s 12-piece band show at Camp and Furnace in Liverpool on Friday 1 December 2023.

Fire In The Furnace captures The Heavy North’s electrifying live performance in Full HD with fully-mastered audio, featuring guest musicians the Northern String Quartet, backing singers Rosalie Galvin and Molly Fryo, and brass section Ste Powell (saxophone) and Lozza Taylor (trumpet).

Described as “dive bar blues from the banks of the Mersey Delta”, The Heavy North released their critically-acclaimed debut studio album Electric Soul Machine in April 2022.

Following headline shows across the UK and Europe, the blues rock six-piece released their second studio album Delta Shakedown in October 2023 – marking the band’s first Official UK Chart release (#10 Independent Album Breakers Chart).

In recent years The Heavy North’s sound has caught the attention of BBC 6 Music, Radio X, Amazing Radio, BBC Introducing, Classic Rock Magazine, Tim’s Twitter Listening Party, and legendary actor and new music champion Robert Carlyle who described the band as “Absolutely brilliant!”

Please note that doors open 15 minutes before the screening and the programme will begin promptly at the listed time.

Mystery Theatre Club : Edition 12, Wel...

Mystery Theatre Club in collaboration with Homebaked CLT and the Cosy Homes Club

Edition #12

Kitty’s Laundrette

77 Grasmere St, Liverpool L5 6RH

Doors and food from 7pm

Film starts at 7:30pm

Pay What You Can

Free Hot Meal! – Discussion after the Screening!

Join the Mystery Theatre Club for a monthly archived screening of unique, world-class theatre shows. Embrace experimental and contemporary works from exciting theatre makers.

This time they are celebrating the work of Welfare State International!

Founded in 1968 by John Fox and Sue Gill, Roger Coleman and others, Welfare State International was a loose association of freelance artists bought together by shared values and philosophy.

WSI first became well known for large-scale outdoor spectacular events. When the company began, taking art out of theatres and galleries into the street was considered revolutionary. The company’s name was originally ‘The Welfare State’ offering art for all on the same basis as education and health.

Under the Welfare State umbrella, a remarkable group of engineers, musicians, sculptors, performers, poets and pyrotechnicians invented and developed site-specific theatre in landscape, lantern processions, spectacular fireshows, community carnivals and participatory festivals. These creations were by turns beautiful, abrasive, didactic, provocative, disturbing, wondrous and even gently therapeutic.

Mapantsula – film screening w/ Q...

“South Africa from a Black perspective… it’s about time.” – Spike Lee

On 16th May at Metal, Edge Hill Station they’re screening Mapantsula to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Freedom Day, which commemorates the first post-apartheid elections to take place in South Africa in 1994.

Released in 1988 and created while evading the censorship of the authorities whose brutal and sinister activities the film set out to expose, Mapantsula is a gripping drama and an almost miraculous opportunity to understand South Africa from within during its struggle for freedom.

A great crime film and a real slice of life, Mapantsula tells the story of Panic: a small-time hood who believes he sees all the angles. But he is soon in the web of the authorities, pushed to betray the revolutionaries fighting for change.

Event

Get your ticket today and join them – there will be refreshments, sweet treats and a Q&A with very special guests!

The Thief of Bagdad

The Thief of Bagdad: Film Screening + Q&A with Michelle Williams Gamaker

Thu 6 Jun, 6:30pm – 9:15pm

Join Bluecoat for a special screening of The Thief of Bagdad, a cinematic masterpiece from 1940. Following the screening, award-winning artist Michelle Williams Gamaker will lead a Q&A session, providing insight into the intersection of art, cinema, and storytelling. Williams Gamaker, the creative force behind Bluecoat’s current exhibition ‘Our Mountains Are Painted on Glass’ will explore the themes and inspirations behind both the exhibition and the film.

The Thief of Bagdad is a fantasy adventure filled with magic, romance, and thrilling escapades. Set in the enchanting world of ancient Arabia, we follow the journey of Ahmed, the ousted King of Bagdad, as he seeks to reclaim his rightful throne and win the heart of a princess, all while battling the nefarious sorcerer Jaffar. Directed by the talented trio of Michael Powell, Ludwig Berger, and Tim Whelan, this classic continues to mesmerise audiences with its breath-taking special effects, vibrant visuals, and captivating story, keeping viewers spellbound for generations.

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to experience the magic of The Thief of Bagdad and engage with the creative mind behind their current exhibition.

Doors: 6pm
The Thief of Bagdad: 6:30pm
Q&A: 8:30pm

Tickets: £10.50

Limited availability, book now to avoid disappointment.

MARRIAGE (IN)EQUALITY IN UKRAINE: Scre...

The video art transports us to an imaginary world where heterosexual couples cannot legalise their relationships. The events take place during the war in Ukraine, which exacerbates the problems faced by couples – the inability to arrange guardianship for their children or to visit an injured partner in the hospital. Some of the characters are representatives of the LGBTQ+ community, who tell their authentic stories at the end of the video.

The MARRIAGE (IN)EQUALITY project was prepared as part of an advocacy campaign aimed at lobbying for the adoption of bill No. 9103 “On the Institute of Registered Partnerships” in Ukraine. This bill would allow LGBTQ+ couples to have some of the rights that heterosexual couples have after marriage. For example, they would have equal rights in matters related to property, inheritance, insurance, pensions, medical care, and other important aspects of life.

The project will be presented by director Yuriy Dvizhon and art director Aleh Razhkou, followed by a panel discussion on the theme of “Power of art in advocacy”. The panel discussion aims to explore the role of art in transforming society. Can art projects influence laws? How to achieve a successful advocacy campaign through art? Can the experience of art activists from one country be useful to representatives of another, and how to achieve synergy on the global stage?

Visitors to the presentation will have the opportunity to speak personally with the creators of the project MARRIAGE (IN)EQUALITY IN UKRAINE and also pose their questions to the panellists.

Yuriy Dvizhon is a film director, creative producer, LGBTQ, and HIV activist from Ukraine who communicates with his audience using art videos and films. He is included in the “Top 30 under 30” by the oldest English-language newspaper, Kyiv Post, for his contribution to the development of Ukrainian society. Some of his works were officially selected or won at Ukrainian and international festivals (1.4 Awards, Berlin Music Video Awards, Bolton International Film Festival, Kyiv Fashion Film Festival, LGBT+ Film Festival Poland, La Jolla Fashion Film Festival, and many others). In 2023, The Shark Awards shortlisted him as a Best New Talent director.

Aleh Razhkou, Cultural Projects Director from Belarus now residing in London, is passionate about exploring xenophobia and the pathways to its eradication through his latest works. In a continual state of experimentation and self-observation, he collaborates with fellow creators, utilizing art as a universal language that bridges diverse communities. He places a special emphasis on the recognition and acceptance of the queer community in society.