Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Russian Ministry of Defense: 37 Ukrainian drones destroyed in 4 hours over regions of Russia and the Black Sea.
Sheikh Qassem: Our supporters make up more than half of Lebanon's population, and all of these people are united under the banner of protecting Lebanon, its Resistance, its people, and its integrity.
Sheikh Qassem: There will be no phased handing in of our arms. [The Israelis] must first enact the agreement before we start talking about a defensive strategy.
Sheikh Qassem: Be brave in the face of foreign pressures, and we will be by your side in this stance.
Sheikh Qassem: Stripping us of our arms is like stripping us of our very soul, and this will prompt us to show them our might.
Sheikh Qassem: We will not abandon our arms, for they gave us dignity; we will not abandon our arms, for they protect us against our enemy.
Sheikh Qassem: The US efforts we are seeing are aimed at sabotaging Lebanon and constitute a call for sedition.
Sheikh Qassem: If you truly want to establish sovereignty and work for Lebanon’s interests, then stop the aggression.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States, which is meddling in Lebanon, is not trustworthy but rather poses a danger to it.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States is preventing the weapons that protect the homeland.

Palestinian director at Cannes: Gaza filmmakers are 'the story'

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 23 May 2024 11:42
4 Min Read

Munir Atallah, of US-based Watermelon Pictures, expresses the hope of bringing the family portrait to North American audiences, adding that Palestinians have "for too long been shut out by the gatekeepers of the industry."

  • x
  • Palestinian filmmaker Rashid Masharawi (AFP)
    Palestinian filmmaker Rashid Masharawi (AFP)

Palestinian film director Rashid Masharawi handed the camera to filmmakers inside Gaza as part of the project which he presented at the Cannes Film Festival in France, saying, "They are the story."

"They were fighting to protect their lives, their families, to search for food, for wood to make a fire," said Masharawi about his collection of short films called "Ground Zero" showing the Israeli aggression and genocide in Gaza.

One of the short films showed a displaced mother placing her child in a large white bucket and bathing her with a clean Turkish coffee pot, while another showed a man retelling his 24-hour ordeal under the rubble after the building he was in was struck.

Masharawi described directing the 20 teams in Gaza from abroad as "very, very, very difficult," noting, "Sometimes we needed to wait one week to 10 days just to be in contact with somebody, or just to have internet to upload material."

At times, the teams were away from the cameras and busy searching for a tent, finding insulin for a director's mother, or "an ambulance to go and save some kids."

Read next: Day 229 in Gaza: 35,655 killed, 79,852 injured by 'Israel'

The short films are just a few of the several Palestinian tales being screened at the Cannes festival, including Mahdi Fleifel's Greek refugee drama "To A Land Unknown."

Shut out by the 'gatekeepers'

At Cannes, with Palestinian cinema not having its own tent, Algeria made space for the filmmakers at the other end of the international market in Cannes.

Related News

Majority of young Americans view Israeli war as genocide: Poll

Qatar says 'Israel' blocking ceasefire deal despite Hamas agreement

Norway-based Palestinian director Mohamed Jabaly said, "Our narrative and storytelling is more important than ever," who just finished filming "Life is Beautiful" before the war started.

He recalls that his close friend who shot the last scene did not survive the war as "he was killed while waiting for food aid."

Munir Atallah, of US-based Watermelon Pictures, expresses the hope of bringing the family portrait to North American audiences, adding that Palestinians have "for too long been shut out by the gatekeepers of the industry."

Cherien Dabis is one Palestinian who was able to capture audiences in the US. She made the 2009 film "Amreeka" and co-directed the hit Hulu series "Ramy", but her latest film was disrupted by the war on Gaza.

Meanwhile, Ala' Abu Ghoush, one of the crew members on the ground in the occupied West Bank town of Ramallah, made a documentary about the stalled film, which they are calling "Unmaking Of".

"The film is really asking the question: What is the importance of doing films and art in this kind of situation, in this war?" said Abu Ghoush.

The city of Cannes has banned protests during the 11-day event, and private security is scheduled to be monitoring competition jurors, including Eva Green and Lily Gladstone, to prevent activists from reaching them.

The festival will also not distribute any pins representing solidarity with Gaza or Israeli captives.

Read more: Musicians, artists boycott UK cultural events over 'Israel' ties

Thierry Frémaux, the chief of the festival, reported during a press conference a night before the festival opens that it was decided the festival would be hosted "without polemics", ensuring that the main focus of the event is only film and that "other polemics" are not of concern.

That has not prevented Cannes-bound artists like Omar Sy from commenting on social media. "There is nothing that justifies the killing of children in Gaza or anywhere,” he posted recently on Instagram, urging elected authorities to end the attack on Rafah.

  • Palestine
  • Rashid Masharawi
  • Cannes Film festival
  • France
  • Gaza
War on Gaza

War on Gaza

Most Read

Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, executive director of the defense division of the Israeli National Cyber Directorate, undated (Social media)

Israeli-born US prosecutor drops Israeli officer child sex crime

  • Politics
  • 19 Aug 2025
Almost instantly after the Helsinki Accords were signed, organisations sprouted to document purported violations, whose findings were fed to overseas embassies for international amplification. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

How ‘Human Rights’ became a Western weapon

  • Opinion
  • 23 Aug 2025
Israeli soldiers stand on the top of armoured vehicles parked on an area near the Israeli-Gaza border, as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025 (AP)

Palestinian fighters target Israeli soldiers, vehicles in Gaza

  • Politics
  • 21 Aug 2025
Launch of a ballistic missile from Yemen toward the occupied Palestinian territories. (YAF military media)

Yemeni Forces announce firing hypersonic missile at Al-Lydd Airport

  • Politics
  • 22 Aug 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference at the Prime minister's office in al-Quds, Occupied Palestine, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Netanyahu deliberately derailing truce with Gaza occupation: Hamas

Irish President Michael Higgins arrives to deliver his speech during a 42nd World Food Day celebration at FAO headquarters in Rome, on Oct. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Politics

Irish president renews call for UN military intervention in Gaza

US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the US Embassy in Aukar, northern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, July 21, 2025 (AP)
Politics

US envoy, Netanyahu discuss restraining attacks on Lebanon, withdrawal

Smoke billows following Israeli airstrikes in multiple areas in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Ansar Allah vow sustained Gaza support despite Israeli strikes

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS