Bethlehem Cultural Festival Announced

From Thursday 2 to Sunday 5 December Bethlehem Cultural Festival shines a light on the arts, culture and heritage of Palestine and the Mediterranean with live events in London and Glasgow as well as an online programme for global audiences.

Bethlehem Cultural Festival puts the rich historic culture and artistic output of the region centre stage, through discussion, food, heritage, dance, film, theatre and music. It shows a region thriving with positive energy and creativity, continuing the long heritage of many generations. Now in its second year, the Festival brings together celebrated artists, renowned expert speakers and cultural leaders for four days of joyous celebration.

The Festival opens with two days of London Live on 2 and 3 December from West London venue Grand Junction. A packed programme includes renowned Palestinian chef Fadi Kattan discussing Palestinian food and heritage with food writer Xanthe Clay and Sam Clark from Moro; writer Christiane Dabdoub Nasser on the unrelenting construction of borders; a new commission from Nay flute player Fais Ishaq; a talk on the wines of Palestine and Lebanon; Hawwiya Dance Company's interwoven narratives of identity, displacement and resistance; Ahmed Najar and Ashraf Afifi's play A Person Can Only Be Born in One Place; and the Galilee Quartet.

Then on 4 and 5 December the Festival moves to Glasgow, a city with long-established links with Palestine and twinned with Bethlehem. Festival venues here are Glasgow Cathedral, the Centre for Contemporary Arts and Glasgow City Chambers. The programme includes co-ordinated tree lighting in Manger Square, Bethlehem and Glasgow Cathedral; a film of skateboarding in Palestine; a discussion on women running the Bethlehem marathon; Palestinian alternative rock band Mafar; screenings and discussions from film-makers in Glasgow and Palestine and how film-making can bring hope; writer Christiane Daddoub Nasser on political ruptures; and Nay flute player Faris Ishaq travels from London to Glasgow to bring the festival to a close.

The Festival's co-founders and directors are Melissa Scott (UK), Abdelfattah Abusrour (Palestine), Jonathan Brown (UK) and Michele Cantoni (Palestine).

Melissa Scott says: "As much of the world's thoughts turn to Christmas, the Bethlehem Cultural Festival team is bringing a diverse range of cultural events from Palestine and the Mediterranean to an international audience. We provide a platform for artists across the world to connect and work together to find common ground through their work and through panel discussions to address key issues that cultural practitioners face in their work. We are building on the rich cultural heritage that this region has always had throughout the centuries, and try to go some way to remind the world of the positive cultural work being done on the ground every day."

For more information on Bethlehem Cultural Festival, please visit the website at
www.bethlehemculturalfestival.com

London Live

Thursday 2 and Friday 3 December
Grand Junction, St Mary Magdalene Church, Rowington Close, Paddington, London W2 5TF
Tickets £22.50 (students £17.50) for each day or £40 for both days
https://www.bethlehemculturalfestival.com/whats-on/

Thursday 2 December

FOOD
5pm Olive oil - its heritage and health benefits
Dr Simon Poole will introduce the health benefits of a Mediterranean diet while Heather Masoud (Zaytoun) and Karim Fitouri describe olive oil production in Tunisia and Palestine. With a tasting session.
FOOD
7pm Palestinian and eastern Mediterranean food, beyond hummus
Fadi Kattan discusses Palestinian food and heritage with Daily Telegraph food writer Xanthe Clay and Sam Clark from Moro.

DISCUSSION
8pm Shrinking Space and the construction of borders
Christiane Dabdoub Nasser in conversation with Leila Sansour and Jacob Norris about her book A moon will rise. Topics will range from Bethlehem families in Palestine and across the globe to the unrelenting construction of borders across Palestine/Syria/Lebanon and Brexit.

DISCUSSION
9pm Writing of Palestinian fiction
How do authors write in English about Palestine? How can they reach a global audience? Writers Ahmed Masoud, Selma Dabbagh, Nayrouz Qarmout and Naema Aldaqsha discuss their work from London and Gaza.

MUSIC
10pm Faris Ishaq - The End of the Night
Nay flute player Faris Ishaq performs a new work commissioned by the Bethlehem Cultural Festival, based on the poetry of Mahmoud Darwish

Friday 3 December

FOOD
5pm Wine talk - The resilience of wine from Palestine to Lebanon
Michael Karam and Madeleine Waters in conversation with Faouzi Issa from Lebanon and Sari Khoury from Palestine.

DISCUSSION
6.10pm
A discussion between Iraqi writer Haifa Zangana and journalist Victoria Brittain about Palestinian women who have written about their experiences as ex-prisoners. They also discuss The Palestine Book Awards, and how it offers an important platform for Palestinian voices.

DISCUSSION
6.50pm Arts and its role within the community
What is 'Beautiful Resistance,' and what role can cultural activity play within the community? Abdelfattah Abusrour, Brigid Keenan and Charlotte Eagar discuss their work in refugee camps across Palestine, Jordan and Lebanon.

DANCE
7.50pm Hawwiya Dabke Dance
Hawiyya Dance Company was founded in 2017 as a culturally-diverse all-women's collective which explores identity, culture and resistance through dance. This ten-minute performance combines contemporary dance with the lines and circles of traditional Levantine folk dance Dabke to create interwoven narratives of identity, displacement and resistance.

THEATRE + DISCUSSION
8pm Ahmed Najar and Ashraf Afifi's A Person Can Only Be Born in One Place
Palestinian playwrights and theatre directors Ahmed Najar from London and Ashraf Afifi from Gaza bring their 50-minute play A person can only be born in one place to the London stage. It shows the tension, tragedy and irony of a Palestinian man who wants peace and quiet in death but, disturbed by the sound of rockets and attacks, is reminded that he has to provide safety for his daughter as a Jewish settler from the United States is trying to take his home. In partnership with British Council
This will be followed by a short film about the lives of artists in Gaza then a discussion between Ahmed Najar, Ashraf Afifi and Aimee Shalan on the impact of the occupation on Palestinian artists in Gaza and the diaspora.

MUSIC
9pm Galilee Quartet
The Galilee Quartet is a classical string quartet comprised of three brothers and one sister from the Sa'ad family.

Glasgow Live
Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 December

Saturday 4 December

Centre for Contemporary Arts, 350 Sauchiehall St, Glasgow G2 3JD
Tickets £20 (students £15)
https://www.bethlehemculturalfestival.com/whats-on/
also
Glasgow Cathedral, Castle St, Glasgow G4 0QZ (free events, no booking required)

MUSIC
5pm Carols at Glasgow Cathedral - with carols from Glasgow, Jerusalem and Bethlehem
Carol service with the Lord provost and Rev. Mark Johnstone. With readings and carols from Amwaj choir and the choir of Talitha Kumi school, including an Armenian Christmas-related song by Amwaj with solo singer Levon Kaladjian.
Free event

EVENT
5.45pm Lighting of the tree in Manger Square, Bethlehem and Glasgow Cathedral
Co-ordinated tree lighting at 17:45 UK time between Glasgow Cathedral and Manger Square, Bethlehem, followed by a candle-lit procession outside.
Free event

DISCUSSION
6.30pm Bethlehem Site-Specific Festival
Ben Harrison and Alice Butler from Grid Iron Theatre discuss their collaborative project with Al Harah Theatre in Bethlehem, the Bethlehem Site-Specific Festival. In partnership with British Council

FILM + DISCUSSION
7.30pm Urban Sport in Palestine
Charlie Davis, founder of Skatepal, shows a film and talks about his work in Palestine with skateboarding.

DISCUSSION
8.30pm Running freely
Cairsti Russell, Diala Isid and David Greig in conversation about Russell's upcoming documentary film, Freedom to Run, and the Bethlehem marathon.
MUSIC
9.30pm Mafar - The End of the Night
Performance by Palestinian alternative rock band Mafar of a seven-minute piece commissioned by the Bethlehem Cultural Festival, based on the poetry of Mahmoud Darwish.

Sunday 5 December

Glasgow City Chambers, 82 George Square, Glasgow G2 9WH
Tickets £20 (students £15)
https://www.bethlehemculturalfestival.com/whats-on/

FILM + DISCUSSION
4pm A Love Letter to Palestine
Short film screenings are followed by a discussion between David Hayman and Baha AbuShanab about the impact of film on Scottish and Palestinian identity.

DISCUSSION
5pm Shooters and young film makers from Glasgow and Palestine in conversation
Independent film company Shooters' David Hayman Jr., Moe Abutoq and Neil Leiper discuss film-making with young Palestinian film makers Wisam Jafari and Ibrahim Handal.

DISCUSSION
6.30pm Ruptures vs Continuity
Christiane Dabdoub Nasser and Bridget Foreman discuss the significance of political ruptures, such as that brought about as a consequence of the British Mandate. How are people impacted by these ruptures, and how do they live through them? Palestinians are known for their resilience, but is it enough to ensure continuity? Ruptures can also herald change: was that the case in Christiane's novel A Moon Will Rise? Is that the case today?

DISCUSSION
7.30pm Cultural activity and the role it plays in national identity
Bethlehem Cultural Festival co-director Dr Abdelfattah Abusrour, Neil Leiper, Chunk and Tam Burn Dean discuss the positive role that filmmaking, theatre and the arts can play in giving hope to people, through their work with young people and prisoners.

MUSIC
8.30pm Faris Ishaq
Faris Ishaq draws the Festival to a close, playing an original composition on the nay, an end-blown flute originating from the MENA region.

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