The Loud Silence: a film about Leeds Women in Black
The 30 minute film was made in Leeds by the Palestinian journalist and film-maker Juman Quneis in August 2025. She spent a year in the city studying cinematography and came across our vigils by chance.
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. It 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”.
To borrow the film or host a screening, see https://theloudsilence.org/
Update October 2023.
Over these past two weeks our numbers have increased exponentially……For the time being we are holding the vigil weekly, rather than twice a month. We slightly modified our leaflet two weeks ago to reflect the current situation. (Tricia Griffin)
Vigil 24 October 2023
Since 1988, women in Jerusalem have held weekly vigils with the slogan “End the Occupation”.
This will be the first of regular peaceful vigils in Leeds to protest at Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. We will stand in silence, dressed in black, with a large banner “Free Palestine” and leaflets to inform the public.
Any women who would like to come along on the day dressed in black would be very welcome.
We dress in black to denote mourning for lost Palestinian lives.
When: We hold a vigil twice a month on the first and third Tuesdays, between 12.30-1.30pm, on the single issue of calling for an end to the Occupation in Palestine
Where: Dortmund Square, Leeds, LS2 8, United Kingdom
Contact: leedswomeninblack@gmail.com – phone 0113 2888862
