From Ground Zero

The First 54 Years: An Abbreviated Manual for Military Occupation

April 2021 •Hebrew

An exhaustive explanation of how the military occupation of an invaded territory occurs and its consequences, using as a paradigmatic example the recent history of Israel and the Palestinian territories, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, from 1967, when the Six-Day War took place, to the present day; an account by filmmaker Avi Mograbi enriched by the testimonies of Israeli army veterans.

Disengagement

September 2007 •French

A political drama centered around Israel's pullout from the occupied Gaza strip, in which a French woman of Israeli origin comes to the Gaza Strip to find her long ago abandoned daughter.

Israel and Gaza: Into the Abyss

September 2024 •English

This deeply affecting documentary follows a small number of Israelis and Gazans through the most dramatic and tragic year of their lives. Using personal and previously unseen footage, it tells the story of the war in Gaza and the October 7 attacks through deeply emotional stories from both sides of the conflict. In Gaza, the film follows three individuals from reaction to the October 7th attacks to the start of the bombing by the Israeli military and to the loss of family members that all three suffer. In Israel, we witness footage of the Israeli characters, as they and their family members are attacked by Hamas on October 7th and then follow their stories through the year.

Gaza Souvenirs

November 2008 •French

The Tank and the Olive Tree, Another History of Palestine

November 2019 •French

The Tank and The Olive Tree recalls a certain number of forgotten fundamentals and sheds new light on the history of Palestine. By combining geopolitical analysis, interviews with international personalities who are experts on the subject and testimonies from Palestinian and French citizens, this documentary offers the keys to understanding what the media call the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Enough to rid people's minds of clichés and prejudices! If The Chariot and the Olivier is intended to be educational, it speaks above all of a magnificent territory, and of a people who constantly affirm that “to live is already to resist”...

It's Bisan from Gaza and I'm Still Alive

November 2023 •Arabic

Bisan Owda, journalist and influencer collaborator of the media AJ+, is at the forefront of reporting by filming with her phone, the daily life of Palestinians to the world since October 7, 2023, the start of the war and devastation from Gaza. Owda's storytelling style and resilience have captured international attention, with his work widely covered by international media. She received an Emmy Award in 2024 for her outstanding coverage of the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

Visit Palestine

January 2005 •English

What drives a young, well-educated Westerner to volunteer as a “peace activist” in the Middle East? Caiomhe Butterly is one of a growing number of volunteers who risk their own safety to intervene in the long-running and bloody conflict between Israel and Palestine. Several internationals, including her, have now been injured. Some have died. In this film, she describes witnessing the aftermath of the attack on Jenin in April 2002. The film follows her work, the main emphasis being “the accompaniment of communities at risk”. Despite being threatened, shot in the leg and deported later that year, she is determined to go back.

The Shooting of Thomas Hurndall

October 2008 •English

After Tom Hurndall is shot in the head in Gaza, his parents Anthony and Jocelyn arrive in Israel wanting to know how it could have happened. They expect sympathy and cooperation from the Israeli authorities, but are instead met with an official explanation that fails to tally with any eye-witness accounts, and a wall of silence. When an Israeli army report attempts to whitewash the incident, the Hurndalls decide the only way to establish the truth is to launch their own investigation into the shooting, a process which brings them face to face with both the Open-Fire regulations of the Israeli army in Gaza, and the soldier who pulled the trigger.

How Kids Roll

March 2024 •English

In the midst of the war in Gaza during the Second Intifada in 2003, two 12-year-old boys, one Palestinian and one Israeli, along with a former surfing champion, form a friendship united by the love of water and learn from each other.

A State of Passion

November 2024 •Arabic

A feature-length documentary film by Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi. After 43 horrific days working round the clock under constant bombardment in the emergency rooms of Gaza’s Al Shifa and Al Ahli hospitals, British-Palestinian reconstructive surgeon, Dr. Ghassan Abu Sittah, emerged to find himself as a face of Palestinian resistance.

Gaza Dreams

September 2018 •English

With nearly two million people living in miserable conditions in Gaza, the Israeli blockade has taken its toll on mental health there. Against the backdrop of the border clashes earlier in 2018 this film goes deep inside the minds of the people of Gaza to explore the mental health issues affecting many there.

Gaza From Within: Return to Seifa Village

October 2015 •Arabic

Where Should the Birds Fly?

June 2013 •Arabic

The film tells the compelling and moving stories of two remarkable young women living in Gaza and the struggle of Gazans trying to maintain their humanity and humor while hoping to find some sense of normality in a world that is anything but normal.

The dead still have a name

May 2015 •Swedish

In 2010 the Freedom Flotilla attempts to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza. In international waters the flotilla is attacked by the Israeli army and 9 people are killed. 9 anonymous people. But the dead still have a name. In 2014 Gaza is attacked by Israel. 2131 Palestinians are killed, among them 513 children. 513 dead children. But the dead children still have names. The film is about a Jewish person who has made a political journey from the Vietnam war to Gaza. This person is the paediatrician Henry Ascher, who lost his fathers entire family in the Holocaust.

Journey into Gaza

November 2024 •Italian

“In Gaza you have to get there in the evening, in spring, lock yourself in your room and from there listen to the sounds coming in through the open window.... It's 2018. I am 25 years old and a foreign traveler. I meet young Palestinians my age..”

Flying Paper

April 2014 •English

Flying Paper tells the uplifting story of resilient Palestinian youth in the Gaza Strip on a quest to shatter the Guinness World Record for the most kites ever flown.

The Idol

January 2016 •Arabic

Mohammed Assaf, an aspiring musician living in Gaza, sets a seemingly impossible goal: to compete on the program "Arab Idol."

Gaza

January 2019 •English

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. Throughout its entire history the Gaza Strip has been witness to conflict and upheaval. From ancient times this tiny coastal territory, located at a crossroads between continents, has been a pawn whose fate rested in the hands of powerful neighbours.

Tomorrow's Power

March 2017 •English

Tomorrow’s Power is a feature length documentary that showcases three communities around the world and their responses to economic and environmental emergencies they are facing. In the war-torn, oil-rich Arauca province in Colombia, communities have been building a peace process from the bottom up. In Germany activists are pushing the country to fully divest from fossil-fuel extraction and complete its transition to renewable energy. In Gaza health practitioners are harnessing solar power to battle daily life-threatening energy blackouts in hospitals.

Gaza Mon Amour

June 2021 •Arabic

In Gaza, 60-year-old fisherman Issa has been secretly in love with Siham, a widow who works at the market. One day, the discovery of an ancient phallic statue of Apollo in his fishing net changes his life. With newfound confidence, he decides to approach Siham but problems arise when authorities become involved with this mysterious and potent treasure.