Watershed

Stand-out evening from the immense Lyra Fest, showcasing exceptional Ghanaian voices in the world of spoken word. Performances by the multi-award-winning Gabriel Awuah Mainoo, slam champion Alhassan Mohamed, and rising writers Nice Cailie Ineza and Ewurama Nhyira Essel, celebrating West African history, identity and culture. Back Stories of the Afro Wind at Watershed.

Film screening, poetry readings and Q&A centred around the BBC’s landmark 80s Arena documentary. Caribbean Nights was the first time the UK daytime TV literati woke up and seriously recognised the abundance of artistry from Linton Kwesi Johnson to Derek Walcott and Fred D’Aguiar. It’s indispensable, historical viewing with lessons in diversity that are more relevant today than ever. A film screening and panel presented by Your Local Arena & Speaking Volumes, with Anthony Joseph, Rishi Dastidar, Louisa Adjoa Parker.

Heart-wrenching historical drama rooted in one girl’s lost childhood during the 1948 Nabka - the military-enforced displacement of native Palestinians necessary for the birth of the modern Israeli state. Intimate, shocking and pertinent cinema followed by a panel discussion with Lowkey and director Darin J. Sallam. A screening of the hit film Farha, the film that Israeli government officials tried to cancel. With a panel discussion including Lowkey.

Free entry radical tech / cultural studies reading and discussion group perfect for sci-fi queers and allies. This edition hones in on extracts from Queen Ursula Le Guin’s non-fiction and McKenzie Wark’s provocative Hacker Manifesto. A meetup at the intersection of queerness and technology