Film starts: 4pm
Workshop starts: 1:30pm
Please follow the link to book for the workshop.
When six Palestinian comedians hit the road to tour a stand-up show across Palestine and Israel, their search for humour amidst the injustice of everyday Palestinian life becomes a plea for humanity against in the face of brutal war.
This screening will include an introduction, a short LIVE stand up set from Alaa (who is featured in the film) and Q&A with the filmmakers.
What’s funny about life under occupation? Palestine Comedy Club is a rollercoaster road-movie that follows six Palestinian stand-up comedians from Haifa, Ramallah, Jenin, Hebron and the Golan Heights who devise and tour a stand-up comedy show exploring the unlikely, often dark humour that circles the complex question of Palestinian identity.
There is no tradition of regular comedy clubs in Palestine and communities are divided by walls, fences and checkpoints that create major disparities in culture and quality of life between one town and another. As such, developing a comedy show that can speak to these very different audiences is almost impossible and the comedians face many challenges in earning comic license and connecting with their fellow Palestinians across the divides.
Despite the cultural and security challenges of touring six Palestinian comedians - all with different travel permissions - across checkpoints and borders to six theatres in Palestine and Israel, audiences flock to the shows and the tour gains momentum through increasing public demand. Word spreads internationally and they are invited to London for a series of gigs starting, tragically, on October 7th, 2023. Just as war breaks out at home, the comedians prepare to perform in English for the first time to an increasingly conflicted British public. Suddenly, the mission to connect with audiences with thoughtful humanity becomes an existential imperative.
Palestine Comedy Club is a quest to find joy in the tragedy of Palestinian life, and create connection against the odds through a common love of laughter.
Comedy as Resistance Workshop
A behind-the-scenes masterclass in telling stories of resistance on screen using comedy.
Producer and co-director Charlotte Knowles and comedy director Sam Beale reveal how ‘Palestine Comedy Club’ used stand-up comedy to translate lived resistance into powerful on-screen narrative.
Combining cinematic storytelling with practical comedy direction, this interactive workshop equips filmmakers, artists, and community groups to use humour as a tool for truth, resilience, and impact.
You can download our monthly brochures as a PDF, where you’ll find all the information about the cinema, our screenings, and special events for January and February. Simply click the button below.
Download Our January Brochure!
Download Our February Brochure!
You can also save our January and February programmes—simply click the images below to download it to your computer or mobile device.
Do you love films, and love talking about films? Then why not join our Magic Lantern Film Club!
Our Film Club is a regular chance for people who love films to get together to discuss them.
Every month, we pick a few titles from our main programme, and meet to chat about it after the screening. The bar will remain open for those who fancy a drink.
We welcome anyone with a passion for films, from enthusiasts to aficionados or even someone who knows nothing about films except they enjoy watching them! We hold friendly and informal conversations, while also providing some extra information about the film, the cast and the director where relevant.
If you are on Facebook, you can join our Film Club Group. We use this group to learn more about what type of films you like the most, for sharing additional insights about the films we choose, as well as any suggestions you may have.
You can also email us at lanternfilmclub@gmail.com.
Scroll down to check out our upcoming meetings. You’ll also find information in our printed programme and in the advert that plays before every screening.
Supported by Film Hub Wales as part of the BFI Film Audience Network (FAN), made possible by the National Lottery.
Cefnogir gan Ganolfan Ffilm Cymru fel rhan o Rwydwaith Cynulleidfa Ffilm y BFI (FAN), a wedi wnaed yn bosib gan y Loteri Genedlaethol.
Sign up for our Welsh Language newsletter, scroll to the bottom of this page!
We’re thrilled to launch a brand-new season of Welsh language films and events in collaboration with We Learn Welsh – Iaith i Bawb. This year-long project celebrates and strengthens our connections with Welsh speakers and learners, both here in our community and further afield.
The FILM part of the season 'Sgrin a Sgwrs' is supported by Ffilm Cymru through their Film Exhibitor Fund, which comes from the National Lottery via the Welsh Government and the Arts Council of Wales. For the next year there will be at least 2 screenings a month of a film made in Welsh with hosted opportunities to learn and chat about the film afterwards.
Our programme will showcase a rich mix of storytelling – from animations and documentaries to shorts and feature films – including the eagerly awaited Tanau’r Lloer (Fires of the Moon), premiering this November.
Are you a Welsh speaker or learner keen to get involved? Do you belong to a Welsh language group that would like to collaborate on an event? If so, please get in touch with us or drop by the box office for a chat with Sara. We’d love you to be part of this journey!
To keep up with the latest Welsh language screenings and events at the Magic Lantern, don’t forget to sign up for our new mailing list with the form below!
Rydym wrth ein bodd yn lansio ein tymor newydd sbon o ffilmiau a digwyddiadau Cymraeg mewn cydweithrediad gyda Iaith i Bawb - We Learn Welsh. Mae'r prosiect blwyddyn o hyd yma'n dathlu ac yn atgyfnerthu ein cysylltiadau gyda siaradwyr Cymraeg a siaradwyr Cymraeg newydd, a hynny yma yn ein cymuned a thu hwnt.
Mae'r rhan FFILM o'r tymor 'Sgrin a Sgwrs' yn cael ei chefnogi gan Ffilm Cymru, drwy eu Cronfa Arddangos Ffilm, sy'n dod gan y Loteri Genedlaethol drwy Lywodraeth Cymru a Chyngor Celfyddydau Cymru. Am y flwyddyn nesaf, bydd o leiaf 2 ddangosiad y mis o ffilm a grëwyd yn Gymraeg, gyda sesiynau dan arweiniad lle bydd cyfle i ddysgu a sgwrio am y ffilm wedyn.
Bydd ein rhaglen yn arddangos cymysgedd gyfoethog o adrodd straeon - o animeiddiadau a rhaglenni dogfen i ffilmiau byrion, a phrif ffilmiau - gan gynnwys yr hirddisgwyliedig Tanau'r Lloer (Fires of the Moon), fydd yn cael ei dangos am y tro cyntaf y mis Tachwedd hwn.
Ydych chi’n siaradwr Cymraeg neu'n siaradwr newydd sy'n awyddus i fod yn rhan o bethau? Ydych chi'n perthyn i grŵp Cymraeg a hoffai cydweithredu i greu digwyddiad? Os felly, cofiwch gysylltu gyda ni neu galwch heibio'r swyddfa docynnau am sgwrs gyda Sara. Byddem wrth ein bodd pe baech chi'n rhan o'r daith o'r daith hon!
Er mwyn cael y newyddion diweddaraf am ddangosiadau a digwyddiadau sinema'r Magic Lantern, cofiwch gofrestru ar ein rhestr e-bostio newydd gyda'r ffurflen isod!
