New film tells story of Leeds Women in Black

A film has been premiered which tells the story of the Leeds Women in Black vigil focussing on eight of the women involved in the vigil.

The vigil began in August 2019 following the vision of the original Women in Black, Jewish women in Jerusalem who for over 30 years have been protesting the occupation of Palestine every Friday. We started with about a dozen women in 2019.

Since October 7th we have grown so that sometimes there are over 30 women standing for an hour in silence in Leeds city centre. We give out leaflets to passers by and have banners which clearly state why we are there, but the focus is solidarity in silence.

Recently we were fortunate to have the support of a Palestinian journalist, academic and film maker, Juman Quneis, who was studying in Leeds.

Juman says: "On a cold December day in 2023, in Dortmund Square in Leeds, a moment of personal grief, following devastating news of a hospital bombing in Gaza, led me to an unexpected encounter with Women in Black. What appeared to be a silent protest revealed itself as a chorus of untold human stories of women standing week after week, resisting war through silence. Guided by journalistic instinct, The Loud Silence was born. A film which invites audiences into this powerful British story with a Palestinian dimension, a deeply human documentary about conscience, collective pain, and the enduring hope for an end to war".

The film tells the story of protest through the words of the eight very different women who are involved in the vigils.

The film premiered at the Leeds Palestinian film festival and is now available for groups and organisations to use. We hope it will stimulate discussion not only on Palestine but on the wider issues of protest and solidarity.

For more information see: https://theloudsilence.org/