Headfirst Editor's Pick
"Reem encloses a whole nation in her voice: soaring high on chants and feverish crescendos filled with sacred tradition, modern resistance poetry, fierce pride and a sense of suffering most cannot comprehend. Fusing her own folk research with the rich songbook of the Levant and contemporary jazz practices; it’s hard to pick a more poignant figure of musical unity right now, or a more powerful opening for BPFF."
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A gig held at Arnolfini on Saturday 30th November. The event starts at 19:30.
Saturday 30th November
7:30 - 9:30pm (doors at 7:00pm)
Arnolfini, 16 Narrow Quay, Bristol BS1 4QA
£8.50 (£5 concessions)
For Bristol Palestine Film Festival’s opening night, we are proud to present an evening of live music with the brilliant and multi-talented singer and songwriter Reem Kelani, with her long-term collaborator the exceptionally gifted Bruno Heinen on piano.
Reem will perform her most recent single, ‘If I Must Die’, set to the poem of the same name by Refaat Alareer, the poet and professor who Israeli forces killed in Gaza in December 2023. All proceeds from the single will be donated to UNRWA.
Reem Kelani was born in Manchester, in the Palestinian diaspora. Her mother came from Nazareth, her father from Ya’bad, near Jenin. Her first love musically was the jazz her father listened to, but at the age of nine she discovered Palestinian music when she was taken to a family wedding in Galilee.
She has spent much of her life since then researching the songs and singing styles of the Near and Middle East. With Bruno Heinen on piano, she has developed an extraordinary, seamless fusion of Arabic music and jazz.
She is, Max Reinhardt said on Radio 3, ‘an astonishing vocalist’. Her voice ‘will make the hairs on your neck stand up’ (Jazz UK); it ‘is holy, strong and seductive, like a call to prayer’ (the Evening Standard).
In these grim times, this promises to be a memorable evening of music, poetry and – inevitably – deep emotion.
This is a seated event. The venue is wheelchair accessible. Further accessibility information can be found on Arnolfini's website (https://arnolfini.org.uk/plan-your-visit/accessibility).
DONATIONS:
All donations raised from this year's festival will be shared between two initiatives dedicated to supporting Palestinian filmmaking and filmmakers: FilmLab Palestine, based in Ramallah, and the children’s animation workshop My Story Became a Film in Gaza.
FilmLab Palestine's mission is “to boost film production and viewership in Palestine by providing the ideal space for filmmakers to convene, evoke learning, exchange experiences, inspire one another, produce film art, while exposing viewers to a diverse repertoire of films.”
My Story became a Film's founder, Haneen Muhammad Koraz, said: "I deeply believe that every person has the right to express themselves freely, and that art making and learning cartoon films is one of the means of free expression, audio-visually, for all segments of society. I tried to change the reality, even if just a little, for the children and women in the tents and I have conducted workshops specifically for children. Children and women draw, color, discuss, play, learn using the photography program, photograph scenes, write stories that express their suffering and reality, draw cartoon characters, and record their voices on film. They have created many cartoon films."
Part of Bristol Palestine Film Festival 2024.
The full festival programme will be released soon: https://bristolpff.org.uk
Entry requirements: no age restrictions
7:30 - 9:30pm (doors at 7:00pm)
Arnolfini, 16 Narrow Quay, Bristol BS1 4QA
£8.50 (£5 concessions)
For Bristol Palestine Film Festival’s opening night, we are proud to present an evening of live music with the brilliant and multi-talented singer and songwriter Reem Kelani, with her long-term collaborator the exceptionally gifted Bruno Heinen on piano.
Reem will perform her most recent single, ‘If I Must Die’, set to the poem of the same name by Refaat Alareer, the poet and professor who Israeli forces killed in Gaza in December 2023. All proceeds from the single will be donated to UNRWA.
Reem Kelani was born in Manchester, in the Palestinian diaspora. Her mother came from Nazareth, her father from Ya’bad, near Jenin. Her first love musically was the jazz her father listened to, but at the age of nine she discovered Palestinian music when she was taken to a family wedding in Galilee.
She has spent much of her life since then researching the songs and singing styles of the Near and Middle East. With Bruno Heinen on piano, she has developed an extraordinary, seamless fusion of Arabic music and jazz.
She is, Max Reinhardt said on Radio 3, ‘an astonishing vocalist’. Her voice ‘will make the hairs on your neck stand up’ (Jazz UK); it ‘is holy, strong and seductive, like a call to prayer’ (the Evening Standard).
In these grim times, this promises to be a memorable evening of music, poetry and – inevitably – deep emotion.
This is a seated event. The venue is wheelchair accessible. Further accessibility information can be found on Arnolfini's website (https://arnolfini.org.uk/plan-your-visit/accessibility).
DONATIONS:
All donations raised from this year's festival will be shared between two initiatives dedicated to supporting Palestinian filmmaking and filmmakers: FilmLab Palestine, based in Ramallah, and the children’s animation workshop My Story Became a Film in Gaza.
FilmLab Palestine's mission is “to boost film production and viewership in Palestine by providing the ideal space for filmmakers to convene, evoke learning, exchange experiences, inspire one another, produce film art, while exposing viewers to a diverse repertoire of films.”
My Story became a Film's founder, Haneen Muhammad Koraz, said: "I deeply believe that every person has the right to express themselves freely, and that art making and learning cartoon films is one of the means of free expression, audio-visually, for all segments of society. I tried to change the reality, even if just a little, for the children and women in the tents and I have conducted workshops specifically for children. Children and women draw, color, discuss, play, learn using the photography program, photograph scenes, write stories that express their suffering and reality, draw cartoon characters, and record their voices on film. They have created many cartoon films."
Part of Bristol Palestine Film Festival 2024.
The full festival programme will be released soon: https://bristolpff.org.uk
Entry requirements: no age restrictions
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