SAFAR Film Festival 2025 comes to Brimingham, presenting cinema from across the Arab world.

Featuring an Egyptian feature film and a poignant Palestinian documentary coming to audiences at Plymouth Arts Centre.

The Tale of Daye’s Family (2024)

Daye is a 14-year-old albino boy from Nubia with a golden voice, who dreams of becoming a singer like his idol, Mohamed Mounir. Bullied for his unique appearance by peers, and abandoned by his father, Daye is determined to stay upbeat. When he gets the unique opportunity to audition for The Voice, Daye and his family embark on the perilous journey from Aswan to Cairo.

Despite their path being fraught with challenges – including a stolen car, lost savings, fleeing from the police, and lacking any means of communication – they also receive help from unexpected quarters, including a friendly firefighter – and an inspiring encounter with Mounir himself.

This unique and often hilarious tale is a testament to the power of music, resilience, hope, and the unbreakable bond of family over adversity.

Tickets available Thursday 19 June, 6pm

A State of Passion (2024)

After 43 horrific days working round the clock under constant bombardment in the emergency rooms of Gaza’s Al Shifa and Al Ahli hospitals, British-Palestinian reconstructive surgeon, Dr. Ghassan Abu Sittah, emerged to find himself as a face of Palestinian resistance.

With news footage of him pale and shell-shocked reverberating around the world, he spoke of a catalogue of horrors from lacerated bodies, to amputations without anaesthetics, orphaned children with no surviving family, and the deliberate targeting of medics and hospital facilities.

This was Ghassan’s sixth and most horrific Gaza “war”.  Why does he do it?  Where does he find the strength to face it again and again? How does it impact his family? How do they process the risks he takes? The answer lies simply in their shared passion: Palestine, a passion they articulate through their support of his perilous humanitarian work.

Tickets available Thursday 26 June, 6pm