Leeds Palestinian Film Festival: Meet the Palestinian woman who has made a film about silent protestors

If you are from Palestine’s West Bank, the winter chill in Leeds can feel particularly bitter.

That was the experience of Juman Quneis, who was part way through studying cinematography at the city’s MetFilm School and “almost frozen” one day in December 2023.

But of course, there were more concerning events happening near home as bombs hit Gaza two months on from October 7.

Juman, speaking over video call from home in Ramallah in the central West Bank, says she went to a cafe after lectures were cancelled.

“It was a sad day because I was following the news coming from Gaza. It was horrific news because it was, I remember, the bombarding of a hospital. So I saw all these scenes that that you might imagine: corpses of people, of children, and they were talking about lots of people who were killed. So I couldn't bear this news, I cried, and then I was embarrassed to see all the people looking at me, so I stepped out and I went to the city centre.

"I saw these women standing in silence, wearing black and they're holding these banners with sentences written on like: ‘Stop killing children, stop killing people, stop killing women’, something like this. And I just stood with them without knowing anything about them. It was my first time seeing them, so we stood in silence.”

That was Juman’s introduction to Women in Black, a peaceful protest group – named after one in Jerusalem - which holds regular vigils in Leeds city centre’s Dortmund Square to demonstrate against Israeli occupation of Palestine.

Juman, a journalist and Assistant Professor of Media at Birzeit University in the West Bank, was struck by these older women expressing solidarity with her people thousands of miles away.

“They finished the vigil and there was a man who came and asked about the figures they were holding,” says Juman. “He said: ‘Why should I believe that these figures are true?’ And one of these ladies - her name is Sue, she was the first person I met in Women in Black – she said: ‘We bring these figures from international human rights organisations, so they are sure they are not Palestinian or Israeli sources, only international sources’.

"I was surprised and astonished by her knowledge about Palestine. She was talking very neutrally, but with evidence, with information, true information. And then I joined the discussion, and they were happy to hear from me because I am from Palestine.”

Juman is back in Yorkshire to present The Loud Silence, her 29-minute documentary on Women in Black, which will be screened tomorrow night at All Hallows Church in Hyde Park as part of the Leeds Palestinian Film Festival.

Her documentary explores the power of silent protest and what influenced the demonstrators, who talk about their beliefs, the impact of other struggles for justice and their own personal grief.

Juman, who is in her early 50s, was a news presenter with the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation, went into producing TV documentaries and studied a masters in Democracy and Human Rights at the university where she now teaches.

When she first suggested the idea of her film in Leeds, the women were “humble” and “shy”, says Juman, but she reassured them that people in Palestine would be interested.

“During doing the film, I used to tell my friends – especially in Gaza, because they were really desperate – about Women in Black and really you can't imagine the impact of this on them because they felt like they are not alone. They are not abandoned. There are people who hear them. There are people who feel and understand their pain.”

Juman edited the film in Ramallah after her studies in Leeds had finished and in order to get feedback showed footage to people back home.

"One friend watched it maybe three or four times in a night because she was obsessed with it,” she says.

A film about people who have solidarity with Palestine, especially women, “is unusual to see,” says Juman.

Maggie Jones, a member of the group, says: “We are all very proud to be representing Women in Black in this film. Juman was wonderful to work with and I learnt so much from the other women involved. I hope the film can help people to understand the power of silent solidarity for our Palestinian sisters from women in Leeds, across Britain and many other countries.”

The war in Gaza is the most recent conflict in the longstanding hostilities between Israel and Palestine. Hamas and other Palestinian militants stormed into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and capturing hostages. Israel responded with an offensive in which more than 69,700 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, as reported by the Press Association one week ago.

At the time of writing, ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas continued.

At the time of writing, ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas continue but there have been accusations on both sides of repeated violations.

The West Bank, a little over 20 miles from Gaza at the nearest point, has its own struggles. But this doesn’t stop Juman having “great hopes” for her region.

“There's no war like what happened in Gaza, it's different, but also there is a different kind of suffering. We suffer attacks of settlers and checkpoints. The freedom of movement is very restricted to an extent that we couldn't visit each other from a city to another. I teach at the university and my students always are always late because of the checkpoints, or sometimes they don't come because of the checkpoints, because of many restrictions on them, because of the attacks of settlers.

"It's time to harvest olive trees,” she continues, speaking in October, “but now we couldn't reach our lands, our trees, so it's really hard. And compared to what happened in Gaza and the consequences of the war, to be honest I feel like I'm guilty to talk about these things, but still it's not a normal life. So our hope is to have a normal life, to be able to move freely, to meet our families – to meet our families in Gaza as well, because we are not allowed for (a lot of) years and also to live and to give the chance for these children now to live. I pity my nephews and my nieces because I don't know about their future, I have lots of fears for that.

"This is our hope, but I'm not sure that there will be an end to all of these kinds of suffering, but still, we have to try. And Palestinians, in my opinion, are resilient, and they have to stay and to defend their right and hope, as well, to have peace and enjoy peace one day.”

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For tickets to The Loud Silence at All Hallows Church tomorrow (doors open 7pm) visit leedspff.org.uk