Gaza

  • Sundance
  • diff

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.

Year

2019

Length

86 min

Director

Garry Keane & Andrew McConnell

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It’s hard to imagine anybody living a normal life in the Gaza Strip. Frequently labeled as the world’s largest open-air prison, it makes an appearance on news reports every time a confrontation erupts between Israel and Hamas. From TV sets thousands of miles away, this tiny piece of land has been reduced to an image of violence, chaos and destruction. So what do the people do when they’re not under siege?

The Gaza which is seldom seen is ordinary, everyday Gaza, a costal strip which measures just twenty-five miles by six and which is home to an eclectic mix of almost two million people.

Gaza cannot be understood in a purely political context or by analyzing tragic sound bites during conflict. It can only be understood by immersion, by living amongst its people and by recognizing and exploring its rich social diversity and cultural subtleties.

GAZA will introduce the audience to the surprising, the unexpected, the unfamiliar stories that portray its true face. It will take an atypical approach to finding out what makes this remarkable place tick and introduce to the world to extraordinary stories of everyday characters leading ordinary lives.

GAZA depicts a people plagued by conflict but not defined by it and as we journey through the physically broken and battered landscape, we let our cast of characters speak for themselves. Through them we gain a nuanced understanding of what life is really like for its citizens and by extension, grow and foster a rare familiarity and affinity with this truly unique place, as we build towards a tender portrait of a beleaguered humanity.

Written and directed by
Garry Keane Andrew McConnell

Producer
Brendan J. Byrne
Garry Keane
Andrew McConnell
Paul Cadieux

Producer Beetz Brothers
Kerstin Meyer-Beetz
Lea-Marie Körner
Caroline Schaper

Executive Producers
Trevor Birney
Christian Beetz
Maryse Rouillard

Director of Photography
Andrew McConnell

Post Production
Isabelle Bouchard
Xavier Agudo

Editor
Mick Mahon

Original Music and Theme
Ray Fabi

Line producer
Alison Toomey
Fady Hanona
Kathrin Isberner

Commissioning Editor ZDF/ARTE
Martin Pieper

Gaza
Trailer
  • „Just in diesem Moment überraschen uns die aus dem Theaterbereich stammenden jungen Regisseure Hans Block und Moritz Riesewieck mit einem erstaunlichen Dokumentarfilm, der seit Monaten Publikum und Kritik auf den wichtigsten Festivals der Welt elektrisiert. Völlig zu Recht: Es ist, als würden einem die Scheuklappen weggerissen, als sähe man das, was sich seit Jahren direkt vor unseren Augen abspielt, zum ersten Mal unverschleiert... eine fesselnde ,Doku noir' mit höchstem Anspruch...Dieser Film müsste an allen Schulen gezeigt werden.“
    Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
    17.05.2018

In co-production with

  • filmoption int
  • real films
  • fine point
  • zdf
  • svt
  • dr

In cooperation with

  • arte

Supported by

  • fis
  • Northern Ireland screen