New documentary film on Israel and Palestine showing in Hastings

Tickets are now on sale for the Hastings premiere of a new documentary film about Israel and Palestine, to be held at The Pigs Palace.
Miranda Pinch (centre) in Israel with her film crew Martin Buckley (right) and cameraman Alex (left) SUS-201001-093624001Miranda Pinch (centre) in Israel with her film crew Martin Buckley (right) and cameraman Alex (left) SUS-201001-093624001
Miranda Pinch (centre) in Israel with her film crew Martin Buckley (right) and cameraman Alex (left) SUS-201001-093624001

From Balfour to Banksy: Visions and Divisions in Palestine sets out the historical background to the Israel/Palestine situation and examines how that history has played out today through various different perspectives.

Hosted by the Hastings & Rye Palestine Solidarity Campaign (HRPSC), the screening of the British-made film will be followed by refreshments and a Q&A with producer Miranda Pinch.

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Miranda, the daughter of a Jewish Holocaust survivor, said: “I thought we would need at least £50,000 to get it (the film) off the ground. But a chance meeting with former BBC producer Martin Buckley changed all that. He agreed to waive a fee and we got started with a tiny budget of just £5,000.”

The independent film, which has now been shown in more than 50 venues across the country, as well as at the Boston Palestine Film Festival, was filmed in both the UK and undercover in Israel/Palestine over a tight 10-day shooting schedule.

The filmmakers gained permission to film in the Banksy hotel in Bethlehem. They were also granted an interview with hotel manager Wissam Salsa and permission to use the ‘Banksy’ name in the film’s title.

Miranda said she has been thrilled with the response to their film so far.

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She said: “We’ve had a very good reception up and down the country, from as far north as Edinburgh down to Portsmouth in the south. We’ve even been invited to apply to the Chicago Palestine Film Festival next April, not bad considering this represents my first foray into the film-making world and we did it all on a shoestring.”

HRPSC chairman Katy Colley said: “We’re delighted to host this important film and to broaden our understanding of the historical background to the Israel-Palestine situation.”

Tickets for From Balfour to Banksy at The Pigs Palace, Hastings, on Thursday, January 23 from 7pm are available to buy at £5 per person by clicking here.