Reserve ticket
Doors at 6.30 for a 7pm start.
Hosted by Crystal Palace Friends of Palestine and Britain Palestine Project
Living Despite Them is a powerful 20-minute documentary filmed and produced by Alaa Hathleen, a former professional footballer from Umm al-Khair in the Occupied West Bank. Shot through the lens of lived experience, the film captures the quiet, relentless realities of life under occupation – checkpoints, house demolitions, curfews, and the daily violence of illegal settlers – alongside the extraordinary resilience required simply to endure.
Alaa describes the film as “a testimony to our ability to endure, to hold on to our dignity, and to live despite them — despite everything.” It is not only a record of injustice, but an act of resistance through life itself.
Once a promising footballer, Alaa’s career was cut short by movement restrictions in Area C and escalating settler violence in Masafer Yatta, alongside the growing need to protect his family and community. He retrained as a physiotherapist, but further restrictions imposed after October 2023 have left him largely unable to work. Following the murder of his cousin Awdeh, who Britain Palestine Project hosted in 2025 with the Mayor of Masafer Yatta, Alaa has taken up advocacy for the safety and security of Palestinians living under occupation in his area.
Following the screening, Alaa will join us for a director Q&A, offering rare, first-hand insight into the realities behind the film and his community’s ongoing struggle and survival.
Between 11–25 January, the Britain Palestine Project is hosting Alaa in the UK for an advocacy and film screening tour, bringing the lived reality of Umm al-Khair directly to UK audiences, journalists, and policymakers.
This event offers an urgent opportunity to listen, learn, and bear witness.