This summer, our first series of film screenings, focused on recent local history in Haringey and Tottenham in particular. We began with The Hard Stop (2015), which took an intimate look at the lives of the friends of Mark Duggan, whose murder by the police prompted the national uprisings of 2011. The second film, Riots Reframed (2013), explored the uprisings from this broader perspective, situating what began in Tottenham in a wider national context. Our third screening, The People’s Account (1985), on 31st August, revisits the 1985 Broadwater Farm uprising through the voices of local residents.
For autumn 2025, we turn our attention to migration with the series ‘no one leaves home unless’ (from Warsan Shire’s poem), connecting local struggles with global histories and present-day realities. The UK has a long history of weaponising migration both in the media and in policy. Last year’s events in Southport and more recent attempts by the far right to galvanise anti-migrant racism in Epping, for example, have been legitimised by mainstream racist political discourse and policy making. Not only are such discourses violently dehumanising, they also decontextualise many of the reasons for migration. They ignore both global inequality and conflict; they erase the historical roots of these and the legacies of European colonialism and the vested interests in ‘global’ institutions, such as the UN and the IMF, which create and exacerbate these problems. Our series is therefore focused on understanding migration, not as a ‘legitimate concern’ but as a global phenomenon which involves real people whose stories need to be told and whose histories need to be understood.
Our new series, presented in collaboration with Waging Peace, Haringey Migrant Support Centre, and Haringey Welcome, seeks to reframe migration, not as a ‘problem’ or a statistic, but as a profoundly human experience, lived and felt by real people whose journeys are shaped by hope, loss, love and resilience. Through film, we will trace the paths of those compelled to move, from Sudan to Palestine, the DRC, Yemen, Afghanistan, Syria, Ukraine, and beyond, illuminating the personal stories and histories that are too often erased or simplified. These are stories of families torn apart and rebuilt, of communities striving to belong, and of generations whose lives are shaped by borders, conflict, and the legacies of colonial and global power.
By listening to these voices, we seek to understand the rhythms and textures of migration, the quiet courage of everyday survival, the invisible labour of caring and rebuilding, and the deep humanity that persists in the face of displacement.
This series is an invitation to witness, to reflect, and to engage, not only with the journeys of others, but with the social, political, and historical forces that make migration a global reality. Through cinema, we aim to nurture empathy, spark dialogue, and honour the richness and complexity of lives in motion.
Programme
First screening: Liela’s Journey (World premiere), in collaboration with Waging Peace (SOLD OUT)
Date/time: Sept 4, 7.30pm
Location: All Good Bookshops
Booking: Eventbrite (Waiting List)
Petition: War in Sudan rages on, 2+ years later. Why it’s critical the world acts. What can you do?
Please consider signing this petition launched by Waging Peace to stop the war in Sudan.
Second screening: Night of the Kings (dir. Philippe Lacôte), in collaboration with Haringey Migrant Support Centre
Date/time: 23 October 2025, 7.30PM-9PM
Location: Chestnut Communtiy Centre (280 St Ann’s Rd, London N15 5BN, UK)
Booking: Eventbrite
Third screening (in November): TILKA (dir. Myriam Geagea), in collaboration with Haringey Welcome
Date/time: 15 November 2025, 1.30PM-4.30PM
Location: Lordship Hub (Higham Rd, London N17 6NU, United Kingdom)
Booking: Eventbrite
About the films
Liela’s Journey (dir. Tom Newman), 25 mins
We’re delighted to present the world premiere of the documentary Liela’s Journey, directed by Tom Newman, a resident of Haringey. The screening will be followed by a discussion, facilitated by Waging Peace, with Liela and the director.
Liela’s Journey (dir. Tom Newman), 25 mins
In April 2023, settled UK resident Liela visited her family in Sudan for Eid. During her visit, fighting broke out between the RSF and SAF forces across Sudan, including in Omdurman where her family lives. In Liela’s Journey, Liela talks to the camera, directly and unmediated, revealing her experiences of the war and its impact on women living there. She shares how she escaped to the UK, her fears for family still trapped there and her continual fight to raise awareness of the situation in Sudan.
Produced by the charity Waging Peace, Liela’s Journey is a unique and personal account of the violence in Sudan. It gives scale and human context to the implications of violence on women and a generation of Sudanese men who are given a stark choice: boat or boot. Flee or fight.
Night of the Kings (dir. Philippe Lacôte), 93 mins
Haringey Community Cinema and Haringey Migrant Support Centre invite you to a screening of Night of the Kings, directed by Philippe Lacôte — a captivating journey into West African culture and Ivorian society.
The screening will be followed by a discussion facilitated by Haringey Migrant Support Centre. More details will be announced soon.
About the film
A young man is sent to ‘La Maca’, a prison of Ivory Coast in the middle of the forest ruled by its prisoners. With the red moon rising, he is designated by the Boss to be the new ‘Roman’ and must tell a story to the other prisoners.
Paying homage to the tradition of the griot in West African culture, this original vision from breakout Ivory Coast filmmaker Philippe Lacôte tells the story of a pickpocket (Koné Bakary), newly arrived at a correctional facility in the Ivorian capital of Abidjan, who, in order to stay alive, must keep his fellow inmates entertained with wild tales over the course of a night.
TILKA (dir. Myriam Geagea) 105 mins
An intimate portrait of five women who meet to create a striking, collective piece of theatre amid Lebanon’s collapse.
Najah, Tima, Rania, Fatima and Fida meet in March 2021 for an artists’ residency in the mountains outside Beirut, coming together to create an original piece of theatre. As the country grapples with collapse, they weave together a story inspired by their experiences as women fighting against the odds for their rights.
TILKA won Best Local Documentary at the Lebanese Independent Film Festival and premiered in the UK at Cambridge Film Festival.
About HCC
Haringey Community Cinema (HCC) was launched in April 2025 and is run by volunteers. Inspired by Brixton Community Cinema, HCC is aimed at bringing residents of Haringey together through film. Our mission is to showcase films that challenge, inspire, and spark critical reflection—films that make us think and act.
About Waging Peace
Waging Peace is a charity campaigning against human rights violations and abuses in Sudan, and supporting Sudanese individuals seeking asylum, with refugee or other status, as well as the wider diaspora, to build meaningful lives in the United Kingdom. Waging Peace’s vision is of a Sudanese-British community leading fulfilling lives, and contributing to local and national life in the UK while working for an inclusive, diverse, and peaceful Sudan. You can find out more about them, and about recent projects like a book of children’s drawings of mass atrocities in Sudan, on their website: https://wagingpeace.info/
About Haringey Migrant Support Centre
Haringey Migrant Support Centre (HMSC) is a community-based charity in Haringey founded by local residents in response to the hostile environment. They provide holistic frontline support to migrants across London, focusing on those with insecure status and complex needs who often face severe barriers to support. This includes expert advice on immigration, housing, and welfare, alongside a welcoming community space where people can relax, build strength and a sense of belonging, as well as collaborative campaigns to advocate for systemic change. You can find out more about the work of HMSC on their website: haringeymsc.org/
About Haringey Welcome
Haringey Welcome is a local grassroots group acting as part of a nationwide movement to replace national Hostile Environment policies with a fair and inclusive immigration system that embodies the values of justice, equality, dignity and antiracism.
We exist to enact hopefulness and to demonstrate that positive change, kinder systems, and more inclusive societies/communities are not only possible but also essential. To visit our website: https://haringeywelcome.org/
Haringey Community Cinema 