The Palestine Film Institute reflects on the concepts of the "Unprovoked" by suggesting a film program that discusses, historically and aesthetically, the continuous provocation, intimidation and violations of Palestinians life, land and society. The program is designed to celebrate the beauty of Gaza, its people, its struggle and its survival. These films aim to counter misrepresentation, share the humanity of this beautiful place and resist demonisation. With a wide range of themes and genres, from personal stories of triumph and hope to thought-provoking documentaries, the program sheds light on socio-political realities. The films paint a landscape of stories, presenting an opportunity for viewers to contemplate Gaza's past, understand its present and imagine a future.

All films are subtitled in English

Join the Unprovoked Narratives panel discussion with Mohanad Yakubi and Yara Yuri Safadi on 13.12 >>>

Monday 11.12, short films

Shujayya, Mohammed Almughanni (2016), Documentary, 20 min
In Gaza, members of a typical family are thrown into disarray after a series of bombing attacks destroyed their home, killed some of the occupants and left others seriously injured.

Scenes of the Occupation from Gaza, Mustafa Abu Ali (1973), Documentary, 13 min
A rare film by the legendary filmmaker Mustafa Abu Ali, one of the founders of the Palestine Film Unit, the first filmic arm of the Palestinian revolution. Shot by a French news team, the footage was edited by Mustafa in Lebanon to produce one of the earliest films on the occupied territory in Gaza. Scenes of the Occupation from Gaza employs experimental editing techniques to produce a cinematically and politically subversive film. The film won the prize as best film at the Damascus Film Festival in 1973 and was screened at multiple festivals. It was the only film produced by the Palestine Cinema Group, which in 1974 became the Palestine Cinema Institute.

Condom Lead, Tarzan Nasser & Arab Nasser (2013), Drama, 11 min
A dream of the hope for intimacy and love in a brutal, divisive world.

Tuesday 12.12

Gaza Calling, Nahed Awwad (2012), Documentary, 51 min
Samer lives in Ramallah in the West Bank. His family lives in Gaza, one hour away. They have not seen each other for six years.
When Mustafa went for a visit to Gaza in 2006, he was 18 years old. He was never allowed to return – his mother Hekmat has been fighting to see him again for seven years now.
Two families torn apart. They share the same “crime”: being registered with a Gaza address in their Identity Cards. Under Israeli rule, they are considered “infiltrators” in their own country. Their lives have turned into a permanent struggle. Parents can only talk to their sons on the phone; sisters can only see their brothers on the internet – mothers and their children fighting to be together at last…

Gaza Ghetto: Portrait of a Palestinian Family, PeÅ Holmquist (1985), Documentary, 82 mins
The first documentary feature made in Gaza, this now classic film puts today’s headlines into historical perspective. It focuses on life under military occupation in Jabalia, the largest of all Palestinian refugee camps. A child is born and a child dies, and we come to understand the impact of decades of war and displacement on daily life and family rituals.
We also meet Israelis personally involved: soldiers on patrol, settlers and government architects of the military occupation, Ariel Sharon, among them.

To My Father, Abdel Salam Shehada (2008), Documentary, 53 min
“Those were days when people prettier, when eyes were filled with colour, even in black and white. What has changed - the camera, or the eye?" asks Abdel Salam Shehadah's poetic homage to the studio photographers of the 1950's - 70's. Set partly in a refugee camp in Rafah, the film looks back at fifty years of Palestinian and Arab history, told through the photographs, reportage and the voices of these photographers today.

Wednesday 13.12

Ouroboros, Basma al-Sharif (2017), Experimental, 1h 17m
An homage to the Gaza Strip based on the eternal return. A journey following one man through five different landscapes marks the end as the beginning, forgetting as the way forward, and the failure of civilization.

>> starts every 1h30
>> 10:00, 11:30, 13:00, etc.

Thursday 14.12

Ambulance, Mohamed Jabaly (2016), Documentary, 1h 20m
A raw, first-person account of the last war in Gaza in the summer of 2014. Mohamed Jabaly, a young man from Gaza City, joins an ambulance crew as war approaches, looking for his place in a country under siege, where at times there seems to be no foreseeable future. While thousands of things are published on the recurring violence in Gaza, the stories behind them remain hidden. Not this one.

>> starts every 1h30
>> 10:00, 11:30, 13:00, etc.

Friday 15.12, short films

Shujayya, Mohammed Almughanni (2016), Documentary, 20 min
In Gaza, members of a typical family are thrown into disarray after a series of bombing attacks destroyed their home, killed some of the occupants and left others seriously injured.

Scenes of the Occupation from Gaza, Mustafa Abu Ali (1973), Documentary 13 min
A rare film by the legendary filmmaker Mustafa Abu Ali, one of the founders of the Palestine Film Unit, the first filmic arm of the Palestinian revolution. Shot by a French news team, the footage was edited by Mustafa in Lebanon to produce one of the earliest films on the occupied territory in Gaza. Scenes of the Occupation from Gaza employs experimental editing tech- niques to produce a cinematically and politically subversive film. The film won the prize as best film at the Damascus Film Festival in 1973 and was screened at multiple festivals. It was the only film produced by the Palestine Cinema Group, which in 1974 became the Palestine Cinema Institute.

Condom Lead, Tarzan Nasser & Arab Nasser (2013), Drama, 11 min
A dream of the hope for intimacy and love in a brutal, divisive world.

Saturday 16.12

Ouroboros, Basma al-Sharif (2017), Experimental, 1h 17min
An homage to the Gaza Strip based on the eternal return. A journey following one man through five different landscapes marks the end as the beginning, forgetting as the way forward, and the failure of civilization.

>> starts every 1h30
>> 13:00, 14:30, 16:00