“Ground Zero”: a window on resilience and daily life in Gaza
It was at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes on May 19, that the first screening of Ground Zeroan ambitious cinematographic project composed, for the moment, of sixteen various short films ranging from fiction to documentary, including documentary and animation. At short, four other short films will complete this collective work.
This projection has brought together several important figures in the world of Arabic cinema, such as Hussein Fahmy, president of the Cairo International Festival (Egypt), Lamia Guiga, Executive Director of Carthage Cinematographic Days, Mouhamad Keblawi, founder of the Arab film Festival of Malmö (Sweden), Abdelhaq Mantrach, President and Malak Dahmouni Artistic, from the International Film Festival of the author of Rabat (Morocco), Elias Khlat, founder and director of the Tripoli Film Festival (Lebanon), and many others, like the Palestinian director May Masri, the critic Ibrahim Ariss and many Arab and foreign journalists.
The initiative Ground Zero was launched by Rashid Masharawi, a Palestinian director from Gaza, in the tumultuous context of war which followed the attacks of October 7, 2023. The project aims to make the voice of Gazaouis audible, to keep a trace of experienced experiences and to guarantee that the history of the occupation of Palestine includes the perspectives of the Palestinians, in particular those of Gaza.
Despite the difficulties inherent in the situation in Gaza, the project testifies to the existence of a flourishing creative space. The Gaza Strip has artistic talents that nothing should stop, because art, by its relationship between imagination and reality, is more essential than ever to allow the filmmakers of Gaza to express themselves.
Ground Zero revolves around twenty very short stories, three to six minutes each, allowing a multiplicity of points of view and illustrating the creative diversity of Gaza. This short format guarantees the feasibility of filming, necessarily brief and distributed through Gaza. This approach makes it possible to draw up a cinematographic picture of artistic talents, daily life, fears, dreams and hopes of the inhabitants of Gaza.
A selection committee has been set up to ensure the quality and speed of the implementation of the project. He assesses the proposals according to criteria such as the personal character of the stories, their originality and the talent of the filmmakers. This committee supports the development of ideas until their realization in films. By selecting a little more than twenty projects, the Committee takes into account the possibility that some cannot be completed, a risk inherent in life in a conflict zone like Gaza.
To ensure the success of selected projects, tutors based in the Middle East and in Europe support the filmmakers of Gaza. On site, persistent coordinators provide necessary technical and human assistance, while managing budgets and data transfers for post-production. Despite the logistical challenges, funds and data reach Gaza, thus ensuring the continuity of projects. This system allows you to work quickly while guaranteeing the quality of the film, with tutors who develop and follow projects until the rushes are sent.
The diffusion rights were acquired from all directors before the start of filming, thus guaranteeing that Ground Zero may be presented to the greatest number, in all possible circuits. Post-production has been entrusted to experienced companies in Europe and the Middle East, and the 90-minute film will be available in Arabic, English and French. This approach guarantees that the film will be able to touch an international audience and preserve the memory of Palestinian experiences in wartime.
The sixteen short films currently completed have various perspectives on life in Gaza, far from the usual media images. One of the stories tells the traumatic experience of a young teenager whose mother inscribes her name on her body to identify her in the event of death. We have already seen this on TV and on social networks, but in this film, we can have the feeling of this teenager. She recounts the trauma experienced because of these inscriptions. She could not sleep and erased the inscriptions on her body and that of her little brother. A way for her to keep death away? A refusal of this horrible reality? Another short film features a teenage girl passionate about dance, showing her dancer’s past before the war, videos of shows in which she participated, and ending with a dance on the sand, symbolizing the resilience and the persistence of artistic life despite war. But also broken dreams, and also the hope of being able to continue one day. Another short film shows adults who group children and teach them to draw and make a cartoon. Through this cartoon, children tell themselves, tell their sorrows and concerns. Other shorts are more earth on earth, such as that which concerns the recycling of water, very rare since the start of the war. Another show a young man who in 24 hours found himself under the rubble three times, and was able to survive it, but saw members of his family succumbing. Or this other filmmaker, which tells of his life before, his film he had shot, which had been selected in a festival and had won a prize there, when he could not be present. He asks for forgiveness in the cinema, “Sorry Cinema”, in fact, his current concerns are no longer staging, claps and shots, his daily life has become the protection of his family, the quest for food and wood to warm up, to cook …
These various short films show us life in Gaza, the concerns of the Gazaouis, their resilience, their dreams and their future broken, but also their fierce desire to stay at home. They said it, they don’t want to redo the same mistake in 1948 and flee. They stay there, in Gaza, whatever happens. Each short film brings its own point of view, poignant stories which reveal little -known and yet deeply human realities. For example, the story of the little girl who erased the inscriptions of her body and that of her little brother in the middle of the night to refuse the very idea of death is particularly moving.
Ground Zero is a cinematographic work of remarkable depth, which offers a unique and unique vision of life in Gaza. Each short film is an open window on realities that we cannot perceive through traditional media. The diversity of cinematographic genres used-fiction, documentary, animation, experimental-enriches the whole, allowing a multi-dimensional exploration of Gazaouies experiences.
The quality of short films is certainly very uneven, but that does not in any way decrease the emotional and narrative impact of the whole. On the contrary, this inequality reflects the raw and complex reality of life in the war zone, where each artist fights with limited resources to tell his story. Some films are distinguished particularly by their cinematographic treatment, such as that of the teenager dancer, who mixes images before the war with current scenes, creating a poignant contrast between lost innocence and present resilience.
Ground Zero succeeds in capturing the essence of daily life in Gaza, a life marked by fear, suffering, but also by hope and determination. The project underlines the importance of preserving and disseminating these stories, not only for the Gazaouis themselves, but for the whole world. In this, Ground Zero is more than a film, it is an act of memory and cultural resistance, a powerful declaration of human creativity in the face of adversity.
This film is an invitation to see beyond clichés and stereotypes, to understand the complexities and shades of life in Gaza. He reminds us that behind each conflict, there are human stories that deserve to be heard and respected. As a film critic, I can only salute this daring and necessary initiative, which contributes to enriching our understanding of the world and promoting a culture of peace and solidarity. Ground Zero is an essential work, a lesson in courage and humanity that everyone should see.
On the end credits, known names and others less known. Those who helped, by advice, by a service, by funds … Among them, the Tunisians Hend Sabry, Dorra Bouchoucha and Lina Chaabane.
It should be noted that it is very likely that these short films will be scheduled in more movie festivals, including the Carthage Cinematographic Days and the Cairo International Film Festival. To be confirmed.
The day after this projection, a meeting, organized by Rashid Masharawi and his team with Palestinian filmmakers and filmmakers from the Arab and Western world, took place in a tent on a Cannes beach. Several personalities were present, producers, distributors, artists, among them the famous director Elie Suleiman, the Tunisian producers Dorra Bouchoucha and Lina Chaabane, the Tunisian actors Dorra Zarrouk, Afef Ben Mahmoud and Mohamed Ali Nahdi.
Tuesday, May 21, it is the Algerian pavilion which receives the Palestinians, from 9:30 am to 6:15 pm, for a day of solidarity. Several projects and initiatives, including Ground Zero, will be presented, by several institutions or associations, including the Palestinian film Institute or the Watermelon Films.
Neïla Driss
