The Palestine Film Institute (PFI) has announced the filmmakers and works-in-progress selected for its annual showcase at Sheffield DocFest, presenting a diverse slate of projects that explore themes of identity, memory, and resistance.
Organized in partnership with Sheffield DocFest and supported by the British Council, the PFI Showcase will be held on June 13 at the festival’s Creative Lounge in Sheffield, England.
Among the featured projects is Different Colors of Sabir, directed by Safaa Khatib and produced by May Jabareen and Maria Eugenia Lombardi. The Palestine-Italy co-production follows Khatib as she documents her family’s experience after her father, a prominent Palestinian political figure from the Galilee, is convicted of “incitement to violence and terrorism.” The film captures intimate family moments alongside broader acts of political resistance, as concerns persist that he could face imprisonment again.
The Story We Broke
Also selected is The Story We Broke, directed by Gaia Caramazza and Jude Taha. The US-Jordan production follows a Palestinian journalist at Columbia University as she navigates the tension between professional objectivity and personal identity while reporting on a student movement that mirrors her own quest for belonging.
Another project, Unboxing Gaza, directed by Marta Miskaryan and produced by Alice Hughes, tells the story of a Palestinian artist who discovers his grandfather’s long-forgotten photo archive from 1940s Gaza. What begins as a personal exploration develops into a wider effort to preserve the memory of a city facing the threat of erasure.
Filmmaker and educator Saeed Taji Farouky, a member of the Palestine Film Institute delegation attending the festival, said Sheffield holds particular significance for Palestinian filmmakers.
“The Institute’s delegation to Sheffield always has special resonance because of the city’s history of radical and popular mobilization for justice and liberation,” Farouky told Deadline.
“Sheffield is the perfect partner to build up the Palestinian film industry with us, to find opportunities for these phenomenal filmmakers on an international scale, and to showcase the incomparable talent of Palestinian artists,” he added.
Beyond the PFI Showcase, several Palestinian projects will be represented across the wider festival programme. Yasmin Fedda’s To Make Things Grow has been selected for the MeetMarket industry platform, while completed films screening during the festival include Life Support, Landscapes of Memory, and American Doctor.
This year’s Sheffield DocFest will run from June 10 to 15.
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