Gaza - Poster ENG.jpg

IRELAND/CANADA/GERMANY | 2019 | DOCUMENTARY | 90 MINUTES | HD | RELEASED JUNE 21, 2019

DIRECTOR: A film by Andrew McConnell and Garry Keane
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Andrew McConnell
EDITING: Mick Mahon
ORIGINAL MUSIC: Ray Fabi
PRODUCERS: Brendan J. Byrne, Paul Cadieux, Andrew McConnell, Garry Keane

AVAILABLE in English, French / English, French, Italian & Spanish subtitles

Gaza brings us into a unique place beyond the reach of television news reports to reveal a world rich with eloquent and resilient characters, offering us a cinematic and enriching portrait of a people attempting to lead meaningful lives against the rubble of perennial conflict.

WATCH ON DEMAND

Also available on DVD: filmoptioninternational.com/shop/gaza

« It’s gorgeously shot. It’s undeniably powerful and eye-opening. »
— Daniel Feinberg, The Hollywood Reporter
« Gaza is explored in Garry Keane and Andrew McConnell’s poetic and humane documentary less as a flashpoint of geopolitical strife than as the home of living, breathing people. »
— Ed Potton, Sunday Times (UK)
« Gaza is compelling because we hear of life there in the people’s own words, we can judge the tone of the revelations and observations, look at the weary expressions. »
— Paddy Kehoe, RTÉ (Ireland)

FESTIVALS & AWARDS

  • Sundance Film Festival (USA), Nominee for Grand Jury Prize

  • Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival (Canada)

  • Le voci dell'inchiesta (Festival di ciname Del Reale) (Italy)

  • Arab Film Nights (Norway)

  • Dublin International Film Festival (Ireland), Dublin Film Critics Award & Honorable Mention for Best Documentary

  • Portugal International Film Festival (Portugal)

  • ACT Human Rights Film Festival (USA)

  • Mois du documentaire (Canada)

  • Boston Palestine Film Festival (USA), Nominee for Best Documentary

  • Prix Bayeux France (France)

  • Haifa Film Festival (Israel)

  • Tutti Nello Stesso Piatto (Italy), Mention for Best Feature Documentary

  • Munich International Film Festival (Germany), Nominee CineCoPro Award

  • Duhok International Film Festival (Iraq)

  • Split Film Festival (Croatia)

  • DOCSMX Film Festival (Mexico)

  • Mena Film Festival (Canada)

  • Jaffa AM Film Festival (Israel)

  • HumanDocs Nashville (USA)

  • Red Carpet Film Festival (Palestine)

  • Palestinian Film Festival (Romania)

  • Ciné-Palestine Toulouse Occitanie (France)

  • Vancouver Irish Film Festival (Canada)

  • Flimmer Norrköping Film Festival (Sweden)

  • Diaspora Film Festival (Canada)

  • Mumbai International Film Festival (India)

  • Beirut International Film Festival (Lebanon)

  • Documentary Edge Festival (New Zealand)

  • Docs Ireland (UK)

  • Uruguay International Film Festival (Uruguay), Special Mention for Human Rights Competition

  • Cinetopia Film Festival (USA)

  • Galway Film Fleadh (Ireland)

  • Middle East Now Festival (Italy)

  • Kranjska Gora International Film Festival (Slovenia)

  • Bristol Palestine Film Festival (UK)

  • San Francisco Irish Film Festival (USA)

  • Disappear Here Film Festival (Ireland), Human Rights & Social Justice Award

  • Palm Beach International Film Festival (USA), Nominee for
    FIPRESCI Prize

  • Belfast Film Festival (UK), Pull Focus Award

  • Chicago Irish Film Festival (USA)

  • Kosmorama Trondheim International Film Festival (Norway)

  • Geneva International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights (Switzerland)

  • Al Ard Doc Film Festival (Italy)

  • Scéal Eile: Irish Film Festival (Belgium)

  • Arab World Film Festival (Brazil)

  • Amman International Film Festival (Jordan), Audience Choice Award

  • Encounters South African International Documentary Festival (South Africa)

  • Amal Euroarab Film Festival (Spain)

  • Copenhagen Architecture Festival (Denmark)

  • Festival Onirique des Libertés (Switzerland)

  • United Nations Association Monterey Bay International Documentary Film Festival (USA)

  • Cinema Verite International Film Festival (Iran)

  • FICiP Argentina Festival Internacional de Cine Político (Argentina)

  • Europaname (Slovenia & Latvia)

  • Festival Ciné-Palestine (France)

  • Regina International Film Festival (Canada)

DIRECTOR'S NOTES

There are few places in the world that evoke such a strong visceral response as Gaza. It is somewhere that seems immediately familiar, known throughout the world from news flashes beamed onto our TV screens. Yet in truth we know almost nothing about this tiny strip of land on the shores of the Mediterranean.

From the very beginning we wanted to address the disparity between perception and reality. Having spent years working on the ground, we knew that Gaza was so much more than its portrayal in the media. This unique and vibrant land, rich in culture and history, is home to a people who are oppressed and dehumanized but who are also resilient and strong, and who want nothing more than to live normal lives.

How do you tell the story of such a place?

We thought about finding single stories, which in their telling would encapsulate the essence of what it is like to live in Gaza. But we decided that there are too many stories to tell and to take that approach would limit our ability to reflect the unique collective spirit of almost two million people, doing their best under the most extreme circumstances imaginable.

Through a cast of major and minor characters, we meet Palestinians from all walks of life, who individually have a strong story to tell but who together, create a portrait of Gaza like no other. The siege, brought on by history, Israel, Hamas and the abandonment of the international community, is the villain of our story.

This is Gaza as you have never seen it before. Far from being a place of misery, it is a land of smiles, joy and even brief moments of hope. We weave these elements with threads of despair, frustration and fatigue, allowing the audience to look deeper and ultimately to understand that life in Gaza moves in cycles, with the weight of the past bearing down on any hope for the future.