Gaza (2019)
Origin: Ireland Palestine | Documentary | Director: Garry Keane and Andrew McConnell | 90 minutes
Facing the serene Mediterranean Sea, 17-year-old Karma Khaial stands at the water’s edge and senses freedom. But in Gaza, the sea is yet another wall restricting the lives and dreams of its inhabitants.
This elegantly shot and masterfully crafted portrait of Palestinian life offers a rare chance to be immersed in the heart of Gaza, as we glimpse behind the walls of this misunderstood land to get to know real people who inhabit it. Inside a Gaza City taxi, we meet a teacher, a student, and a barber, who all share their dreams and daily predicaments with the driver, Ahmed, using surprising humor and candor. Ahmed could take them anywhere—except that a decade-old blockade makes it nearly impossible to leave the enclave.
Like its people, Gaza’s landscape feels kaleidoscopic: colorful yet pained, fragile yet resilient, ancient while looking to the future. Memory plays heavy on its consciousness. But life moves in cycles in Gaza, and, in spite of everything, joy and humanity can be found in every corner of this mosaic of life.
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‘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.
Ma’an Feb.4 2019: ‘Gaza' documentary film wins 33rd Goya Award
The documentary film "Gaza" directed by Gary Keane and Andrew McConnell won the "Best documentary Short Film" Premios Goya Award, on Sunday, at the Goya Awards in Spain.
The documentary film, Gaza, first premiered in Sundance Film Festival early 2019. The
documentary depicts the lives of Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip when they are not
under the nearly 12-year Israeli siege. The world titled Gaza as the “largest open prison,” as no one can even imagine how it would look like without a siege.
McConnell, a photojournalist, first visited Gaza in 2010 and in 2012 he teamed up with documentary filmmaker, Keane, for the film. The documentary was shot in 2014 and 2015.
McConnell and Keane focused mostly on subjects with a connection to the sea, including a family of fishermen and a 14-year-old boy from a refugee camp who spends much of his time around the water. Keane said, “We wanted to form a collection of people and let them tell their story. The narrative comes from them. It doesn’t come from us.”
“We saw normal people with families trying to live, trying to feed their families, trying to maintain some semblance of normality,” Keane added.
Meet Garry Keane and Andrew McConnell, directors of Gaza, playing in the World Cinema Documentary Competition at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9x0MjbzNfOw&t=4s.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2yxqkbG23U#action=share
View trailer