program by Gaza Film Unit collective
We are approaching two years since the genocidal war on Gaza began, and lost faith in what we once believed. We have lived through the darkest of times and said goodbye to many we knew and loved.
Two years into the genocide, we are not only mourning our martyrs, we are losing memory, place, and the details that vanish by the day. Our children are still being killed, with little global attention. Our people remain hungry. Forever longing, never fulfilled, their blood was mixed with flour.
Genocide usually surrounds you from all sides; it crushes, suffocates, and works to sever you from yourself, even if you remain alive. It has killed everything beautiful in us, destroyed our dreams, and erased our beloved city. And yet, filmmakers in Gaza still insist on telling their stories.
They understand that this war is also a war over narrative. It may be their final message, but it is one they refuse to abandon.
Gaza Film Unit (GFU) collective presents a new program composed of five short films which represents different ways of expressing the sense of loss toward the city, premiering at the 24th Concorto Film Festival in Italy.
The screening is 60-minute long reflecting on the systematic destruction of Gaza’s urban landscape alongside the narrative of the Palestinians.GFU also leads a vital conversation, represented by Eslam Saqqa and Ayman Al-Azraq, on the portrayal of Palestinians, and their identity taking shape after the genocide.
Films featured within the program Gaza – Traces of a City:
Abu Salma by Asil Al-Wadyia, Palestine (2025) 6′
In a Moment by Asil Al-Wadyia, Palestine (2025) 6′
Like an Event in a Dream dreamt by Another—Insomnia by Firas Shehadeh, Palestine (2025)
33’45”
Please Help Me Kill You by Ibrahim Khaled, Palestine (2025) 4′
The Face of the City by Shereen Abdel-Karim, Palestine (2025) 11′
