This year we invited our fans to help plan TPFF's most popular summer event: TPFF Party in the Pits Outdoor Screening. There was a huge response to our vote to pick this year's Palestinian film, and the results were very close. Our fans have spoken!

TPFF is proud to announce that on Friday August 8th, we will be screening Laila's Birthday under the stars in Christie Pits Park. Approximate start time 8:30pm but join us earlier for some fun and food courtesy of Caplansky's in the park.

From acclaimed Palestinian director Rashid Masharawi (Palestine Stereo, Land of the Story), TPFF's 2008 closing night film Laila's Birthday is a wry, dark comedy tracing a day in the life of a judge-turned-taxi driver.

As he leaves to start his day, Abu Laila (played by Mohammad Bakri) is reminded by his wife to come home early with a cake for their daughter's birthday. However, Abu Laila, a law-abiding judge who drives a taxi to make ends meet, faces numerous obstacles as he navigates the absurdity of the occupation and bureaucracy in Ramallah to complete his most important mission. Laila's Birthday is a powerful and humorous portrait of ordinary Palestinians living in impossible circumstances in occupied Ramallah.