Words: Walls (2014)

Part road movie, part performance video, part travelogue. WORDS : WALLS documents a trip through the scarred landscapes of the West Bank in which a group of poets and singers - including two of Scottish poetry's leading lights: Liz Lochhead (the Makar) and William Letford - encounter the many and varied forms which resistance takes; meeting artists, activists, and those just trying to survive in almost unbearable conditions. Faced with the effects of the Israeli occupation from petty harassment, to home demolitions, to aggression and violence, none could leave with the same innocence with which they arrived. However, the hospitality of the Palestinians, and the beauty of their country and culture, made the trip a curiously celebratory affair as well as a chance to establish a dialogue and exchange ideas. This was a whistle-stop tour; taking in a stay at Aida refugee camp, a visit to the last remaining shepherds in the once fruitful Jordan Valley, meeting the inspiring youth of The Freedom Theatre, and a tear gas filled demo at the apartheid wall. They left having barely glimpsed the struggle that is existence in modern day Palestine. Each had seen enough, though, to change their view of the world irrevocably.