Flowers in the Fire

Captions

The works in the programme are accompanied by captions and subtitles.

The pre-recorded conversation is accompanied by captions.

Thematic Content Notes

‘The Flowers of All Cities’ (1969), Hani Jawharieh

• Contains references to, and imagery of, military occupation and political conflict
• Archival footage depicting pre- and post-1967 Jerusalem, including the arrival of Israeli army forces

‘An Unusual Summer’ (2020), Kamal AlJafari

• Contains references to surveillance and state violence
• Themes of military presence and social control within Palestinian communities

‘A Stone’s Throw’ (2024), Razan AlSalah

• Contains references to forced displacement, exile, and occupation
• Discussions of labor exploitation and systemic marginalisation
• Archival and personal histories linked to war and colonisation

‘Dahiet Al Bareed, District of the Post Office’ (2002), Rosalind Nashashibi

• Depicts life in contested and militarized zones
• Subtle portrayals of marginalization and survival in politically unstable environments

‘The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing’ (2024), Theo Panagopoulos

• Contains archival footage related to Palestinian land and flora in the context of colonial image-making
• Themes of historical erasure and visual appropriation

Sensory Notes

No strobing or high-frequency flashing imagery was identified across the programme, but viewers sensitive to archival film textures or screen flicker should be advised.

‘An Unusual Summer’ (2020), Kamal AlJafari

• contains prolonged static surveillance footage and ambient audio.

‘A Stone’s Throw (2024)’, Razan AlSalah

• includes rapid intercutting of archival footage sequences.

HUSS is an Arab multidisciplinary artist and programmer based in Glasgow, Huss’s work confronts personal and political themes through performance, film, moving image, and sound. He passionately addresses critical issues facing the Arab world — topics often overlooked in Western discourse, including displacement and the challenges posed by oppressive laws that endanger artists like himself. He has previously held programming and curating positions at SQIFF and Refugee Festival Scotland.

Hani Jawharieh (1939 – 1976) was a pioneering Palestinian photographer and cinematographer, renowned for his significant contributions to Palestinian cinema. Born in Jerusalem, he co-founded the Palestine Film Unit (PFU), playing a pivotal role in documenting the Palestinian struggle and resistance.

Tragically, Jawharieh’s life was cut short when he was martyred while filming Palestinian fighters in Lebanon at the age of 37. His final moments were captured on film, providing a poignant testament to his dedication.

Posthumously, his work has been celebrated and preserved, notably in exhibitions like ​“The Found Archive of Hani Jawherieh” at London’s P21 Gallery, which showcased his films and personal photographs, shedding light on his legacy and the broader Palestinian narrative.

Kamal Aljafari (Palestine) is a filmmaker and artist born in Ramla in 1972. His films have screened at major festivals and museums, including Locarno, London, Viennale, and the 35^th Bienal de São Paulo. He has received prestigious awards from FIDMarseille, Pesaro, and Visions du Réel. In 2024, IndieLisboa hosted a full retrospective of his work. Aljafari has taught at The New School and DFFB in Berlin and was a Film Study Center fellow at Harvard. Currently a fellow at Columbia University’s Institute for Ideas and Imagination, he is developing ​“Beirut 1931,” a fiction film to be shot in Jaffa.

Razan AlSalah is a Palestinian artist and teacher based in Tiotiake/​Montreal. Her films explore the disappearance of indigenous bodies, narratives, and histories in colonial image worlds, creating ruptures and ghostly trespasses that challenge these colonial borders. She views her creative process as a collective recollection, rooted in relationships with others and the unknown.

Her work has been screened at Cinema Days Palestine (Sunbird Award for Best Short 2017), RIDM (Best National Short or Medium Length Film 2024), and at festivals including Singapore, Yebisu, Valdivia, Melbourne, Glasgow, Beirut International, and more.

Rosalind Nashashibi is a London based artist of Northern Irish and Palestinian descent. Her media are film and painting, and paintings appear frequently in her films, which chronicle intimate moments of contemporary life with an empathetic and personal approach. Nashashibi is preoccupied with looking, in a way that almost crosses over into the other camp, passing onto the side of the subject in a way that can be disconcerting or funny. Her films are punctuated by manifestations of power dynamics and collective histories. Subjects have included non-nuclear family structures, the multiple versions of the artist myth and chronicling life in Palestine.

Theo Panagopoulos is a Greek-Lebanese-Palestinian filmmaker based in Scotland. His work explores themes of collective memory, displacement, fragmented identities and archives. He has directed multiple short films that screened in reputable festivals such as Sundance, Doc Lisboa, Thessaloniki among others and his most recent film called The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing won the best short film award at IDFA 2024. He is currently completing his PhD research on colonial film archives connected to 1930s Palestine.

Image descriptions:

1. An analog colour image of a young boy on a bicycle. He pauses beside a graffiti covered wall, with a painted Palestinian flag at its centre. Behind, there is a large tree with overhanging branches and a beige stone building.
2. A black-and-white photograph captures Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, framed by a barred window, with trees and surrounding historic architecture in the foreground.
3. A black screen with the words ​“On my father’s camera everyone has a chance to exist” displayed in white text. The text appears to be slightly distorted, as if it were taken from an old television screen.
4. A man in a red sweater and black pants walks along a concrete walkway by the ocean, carrying a white plastic bag. A metal railing lines the path, and a wire mesh fence stands in the background. The ocean and sky are light blue with a few white clouds. The image, taken from a low angle, focuses on the man while the background is slightly blurred.
5. Four young boys stand in an urban setting in Gaza, dressed casually and engaged in conversation. Behind them, buildings and a pile of garbage reflect daily life. The setting sun casts a warm glow as their varied gazes hint at resilience amid hardship.
6. A film photograph captures camels walking in single file across a green field of vibrant purple wildflowers, with a small hill in the background.