At the recent Venice Film Festival, a group of Palestinian film-makers announced the creation of the Gaza Film Academy.
They want to establish a centre in Gaza for film education, training and production, to connect local young film-makers with their international peers.
As Dr. Ezzaldeen Shalh, co-founder of the Gaza Film Academy and founder of the International Women’s Film Festival, explains: “In Gaza, film is not merely an art form; it is a means of preserving memory, reclaiming our right to shape our own image and equipping a new generation with the tools to tell their stories. We want the Academy to open a window for the youth and women of Gaza, enabling them to learn, create and make their own films, while also ensuring their voices and images reach the whole world.”
The creators also want to build two-way relationships by inviting film institutions, festivals, funding bodies and international producers to develop partnerships with them. They are also looking to build links with universities and film schools around the globe.
The project’s initiators include artists and film-makers such as Ezzaldeen Shalh, Mai Al-Masri, Kaouther Ben Hania, Annemarie Jacir, Saleh Bakri, Graziela Bildschiem, Rami Youssef, Alaa Karkouti and Hyam Abbas.
Sources: Cinéma Tunisien, KOHA, Broadcast Pro
