Entertainment · Film · 3 hrs ago
Gaza Cinema Academy launches as women filmmakers screen five documentaries
The second Gaza International Women’s Film Festival opened in al-Bureij, central Gaza, alongside the official launch of the Gaza Cinema Academy.
Five documentaries by Palestinian women were screened, drawing on experiences of war, loss and displacement.
Mona Abu Qass’s A Sack of Flour documents hunger and dangers at aid points through her own experiences and those of families seeking food.
Raghda al-Buhaisi’s Beyond Silence follows a deaf artist who lost his studio and family members, and shows the challenges people with disabilities face during war.
The other films tell stories of an orphaned child, a filmmaker grieving her family and home, and a mother coping with the deaths of eight children.
The films were made through a diploma programme that began in March and brought together 25 young Palestinian women.
Their subjects remain urgent amid restrictions on goods entering Gaza and cuts to food assistance, which have led to shortages and fears of a return to famine.
The Gaza Cinema Academy officially launched at the opening of the second Gaza International Women’s Film Festival.
Five documentaries by Palestinian women filmmakers were screened at the event in al-Bureij, central Gaza.
The films portray wartime experiences, including hunger, disability, displacement, loss and grief.
The documentaries were produced through a filmmaking diploma programme that began in March and brought together 25 young Palestinian women.
- Who
- Palestinian women filmmakers screened five documentaries. The event also marked the launch of the Gaza Cinema Academy.
- What
- Five documentaries were screened at the opening of the second Gaza International Women’s Film Festival.
- When
- Monday. The article was published on October 27, 2026.
- Where
- At the site of al-Nakheel Hall in al-Bureij, central Gaza.
- Why
- Not stated.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
A filmmaking diploma programme began, bringing together 25 young Palestinian women.
Five documentaries were screened at the opening of the second Gaza International Women’s Film Festival, which also marked the official launch of the Gaza Cinema Academy.
- Documentaries screened
- Five
- Festival
- Second Gaza International Women’s Film Festival
- Location
- Al-Bureij, central Gaza
- Diploma programme
- Began in March
- Participants
- 25 young Palestinian women
What people are saying
The idea for the film stems from a personal experience and a true story
I want to capture details that reveal suffering and people’s determination to hold on to their life
I want to highlight the additional challenges people with disabilities face during war, including displacement, family loss, and the destruction of livelihoods.