Gulf Photo Plus (GPP), Safar Film Festival, and Peckham 24 are teaming up to present Slidefest Safar—an evening of powerful visual storytelling spotlighting the spirit of resistance across five countries: Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Sudan, and Yemen. Bringing together compelling presentations by artists from these regions, the event will reflect on collective struggles and solidarities in the face of oppression, occupation, and injustice, and the ways in which creativity becomes a force for resilience and defiance.
Five photographers will each present their work for seven minutes, followed by a Q&A at the end of presentations, for the audience to ask questions.
Slidefest is an event founded by Gulf Photo Plus in Dubai over 15 years ago. It is an evening of inspiring photography presentations and Q&A. Since its inception over a decade ago, GPP has held over 30 Slidefest evenings and has presented them in Cairo, Jeddah, Riyadh and Bahrain and London.
Tickets for this event will be available from Monday 28th April.
PALESTINE
Sakir Khader
Yawm al-Firak
Sakir Khader's Yawm al-Firak (Arabic for "Day of Separation") is a poignant photographic exhibition that delves into the profound grief experienced by Palestinian mothers who have lost their sons to conflict. Through intimate portraits and narratives, Khader honors seven young men from the Jenin refugee camp, capturing their lives and the enduring sorrow of their families. The exhibition not only memorializes these individuals but also reflects on the broader themes of displacement, resistance, and the universal pain of loss, offering a deeply human perspective on the Palestinian experience.
About Sakir
Sakir Khader is a Palestinian documentary photographer and film director based in the Netherlands. His main focus is the relation between life and death in conflict zones, especially across the Middle East. Known for his raw yet intimate cinematic signature style, Sakir always seeks to illuminate the poetic sorrows of everyday life.
https://www.instagram.com/sakirkhader
YEMEN
Sadiq Al-Harasi
What do Fathers Leave Behind?
I’ve spent my life searching for my father, trying to piece together the fragments he left behind. I’ve longed to hear his stories—his adventures, sacrifices, and countless journeys. His absence compelled me to delve into the remaining physical archives of our family. But I wonder: does the past exist as we remember it? How far does memory stretch across the distance created by time?
My ongoing project, “What Do Fathers Leave Behind?” is an autoethnographic exploration of the absence. It materialises the loss of a father, identity, and the past and future selves of both my father and me. Through this project, I delve into the intricate relationship between identity, loss, belonging, and memory, utilising family archives, photography, writing, and sound. I am particularly interested in the intersections of these media and how they can collaborate as tools to construct an experimental memory landscape.
About Sadiq
Sadiq Al-Harasi is a Yemeni cultural practitioner and emerging visual artist with a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from Sana’a University. Driven by a desire to uncover hidden truths and challenge dominant narratives, Sadiq creates thought-provoking art that explores themes of loss, memory, identity, and belonging. He is particularly drawn to the expressive power of the human form, using it as a tool to examine the intricate relationship between culture and identity, as well as the dynamic interactions between individuals and their environments. His artistic practice spans various visual media, including collage, photography, cyanotype, and embroidery. His work has been exhibited locally, internationally, and in several virtual exhibitions.
https://www.instagram.com/sadiqyhash/
LEBANON
Fatima Joumaa
From My Mother’s Novel
Fatima, a young photographer, returns to Southern Lebanon after documenting the grief and resilience of her war-torn homeland. Back home, she discovers her mother Layla’s old book, filled with personal reflections. As Fatima’s images intertwine with Layla’s words, the film becomes a layered meditation on memory, grief, and the enduring strength of women as guardians of collective history.
About Fatima
Fatima is a filmmaker and visual artist from South Lebanon. Her visual work explores themes of memory, war, and personal archive. She is particularly interested in how war is remembered, the role of mourning in shaping collective memory and the politics of representation.
https://www.instagram.com/fatiimajoumaa/
SUDAN
Mosab Abushama
Tadween
Mosab Abushama never imagined he would live the very stories he once only heard about his homeland, Sudan. When war broke out on April 15, 2023, his everyday documentation—work, celebrations, friendships—was suddenly overtaken by conflict. What began as a personal chronicle became a record of survival. Through the lens of Tadween, the Arabic word for recording and storytelling, Mosab reflects on how a term once tied to memory and expression has come to echo with the sounds of war. His work asks: if the present shapes the future, what happens when so much of it goes untold?
About Mosab
Mosab Abushama is a photographer, filmmaker, and visual storyteller from Sudan, whose work confronts themes of cultural identity, conflict, and human resilience. He is currently pursuing a Master of Fine Arts at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, where he continues to refine his voice as a filmmaker and photographer.
Abushama began his career as a visual artist amidst the socio-political upheavals in Sudan, where his phone camera became a vital instrument to document both the beauty of everyday life and the brutal realities of war and displacement.
SYRIA
Hanna Arefeh
Hannah Arafeh’s presentation offers a deeply personal reflection on everyday life in Syria, both before and after the fall of Assad’s regime. Through quiet, intimate images, she captures the tenderness of ordinary moments that persist amid the fractures of war and displacement. Her work lingers on the small gestures—public prayer, children at play, the stillness of an afternoon—that speak to the resilience of the Syrian working class, even when the future is uncertain and the past unresolved. In a place shaped by loss and ambiguity and severe sanctions, Hannah’s photographs honor the human capacity to hold on to softness, connection, and meaning.
About Hannah
Hannah Arafeh is a medium format photographer exploring themes of colour, children, light, and motion in and around a constantly changing — and still severely sanctioned — Syria. Away from Syria for more than a decade due to war, Arafeh began photographing quiet details of domestic life upon her return for her own memory — and hasn’t stopped. Arafeh is also passionate about access to film photography and development in Syria.