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Migration Matters Festival Short Film Night

  • Showroom Cinema Paternoster Row Sheffield, England, S1 2BX United Kingdom (map)

Migration Matters Festival Short Film Night

Films by Franco Rosso, Darshan Gajjar, and Rendah Haj

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Date: Tue 23 June

Time: 18:00 - 20:00

Venue: Showroom Cinema

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ABOUT THE FILM

Discover new stories and experience boundary-pushing films.

Our short film night explores what it means to keep our connections to culture alive, uncovers the resilience and sacrifice behind a family’s corner shop, and paints a vibrant portrait of dub poet activist Linton Kwesi Johnson.

Dread Beat & Blood

This vibrant portrait of dub poet and political activist Linton Kwesi Johnson transports us back to the turbulent streets of Brixton in the late 1970s. Jamaican-born Johnson explains with precise and powerful eloquence the violence and racism meted out to Black and Asian communities in London and beyond - and how his poetry acts as a weapon in the struggle for justice.

Dread Beat and Blood, funded by the Arts Council, takes its title from Johnson's 1975 book of poetry and seminal 1978 album, recorded under the moniker Poet and the Roots. Director Franco Rossi revisited South London's sound system culture in his 1980 feature film debut, Babylon.

Film Length: 45 minutes

Director: Franco Rosso

Shop Dada - The Cornershop That Built Us (Short Documentary Screening)

Shop Dada - The Cornershop That Built Us follows filmmaker Darshan Gajjar as he retraces the journey of his grandfather, Pravin Mistry, who fled Uganda and rebuilt his life running corner shops in Britain. Revisiting his grandfather’s home videos, Darshan returns to the first shop decades later, uncovering the sacrifice and resilience hidden behind a familiar South Asian stereotype. As past and present collide, we are confronted with the prejudice that shaped one generation and asks to consider why those same tensions are resurfacing in Britain today.

Film Length: 22 minutes

Created by Darshan Gajjar

  • DocFest 2025 x Filmhub North Peoples and Places Film Challenge Winner

  • DocFest 2025 Selected Participant for the Filmmaker Challenge

HAYAT

Rahma, an Eritrean migrant in Australia, encounters difficulties and isolation as she works to keep her four young children connected to their culture.

Film Length: 14 minutes

Director: Rendah Haj

Book Tickets
Book Festival Pass

Event Format & Information

  • 17:30 - Doors open

  • 17:30-18:00 - Attendees arrive and find a seat

  • 18:00-19:30 - Screening of 3 short films

  • 19:30-20:00 - Q&A with Darshan Gajjar

  • 18:30 - Event ends, although attendees can leave at any time

During the screening, attendees will be expected to sit and listen, but can move around to go to the toilet, bar, etc. if needed.

  • During the Q&A section of the event, attendees have an opportunity to ask questions. These can be asked verbally or sent to the talk host via Slido software. Participation is optional.

Seating: Unreserved seating is available at this event, but if you have specific requirements, please get in touch.

Audio: Microphones will be used at this event. Noise sensitive viewers may find the film volume to be loud at times. Free earplugs are available at the ticket desk if needed.

Lighting: Dim

Projections / lasers / visual effects: The film ‘Shop Dada - The Cornershop That Built Us’ has tape camera footage which flicker on and off.

Quiet space: There is no dedicated quiet space at this venue.

Venue Accessibility

Detailed access information for Showroom Cinema is available on their website and AccessAble.

If you have any questions regarding accessibility for this event, please contact us at access@migrationmattersfestival.co.uk.

EVENT INFO

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