Jump to content

With Hasan in Gaza

Extended-protected article
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

With Hasan in Gaza
International promotional poster
Arabicمعحسن في غزّة
Directed byKamal Aljafari
Produced byKamal Aljafari
CinematographyKamal Aljafari
Edited byKamal Aljafari
Music by
Production
companies
  • CNAP/Image-Mouvement
  • Chrysalis Fellowship
  • Columbia Institute for Ideas and Imagination
  • Doha Film Institute
  • Gwaertler Stiftung
  • Kamal Aljafari Studio
  • L'atelier 105
  • Light Cone
  • Media City Film Festival
Distributed by
  • Grandfilm (Germany)
Release dates
  • 7 August 2025 (2025-08-07) (Locarno)
  • 26 March 2026 (2026-03-26) (Germany)
Running time
106 minutes
Countries
  • Palestine
  • Germany
  • Switzerland
  • France
  • Qatar
LanguageArabic

With Hasan in Gaza (Arabic: مع حسن في غزّة, romanized: Maʻa Ḥasan fī Ġazzah) is a 2025 documentary film produced, edited and directed by Kamal Aljafari. It documents Gaza Strip daily life in late 2001, documenting the tension between the IDF and the Palestinian population during the Second Intifada (2000-2005).

The film had its world premiere in the main competition of the 78th Locarno Film Festival on 7 August 2025, where it was nominated for the Golden Leopard.

Premise

In November 2001, amid the Second Intifada, director Kamal Aljafari began documenting his search for a man he had been imprisoned with during 1989 in Gaza; accompanied by Hasan Elboubou, the duo documents the daily life of the Palestinian population and the high tension imposed by the IDF forces.[1][2]

Aljafari only rediscovered the footage stored on three MiniDV tapes many years later.[1][2]

Production

Aljafari called the film "an homage to Gaza and its people, to all that was erased and that came back to me in this urgent moment of Palestinian existence, or non-existence. It is a film about the catastrophe, and the poetry that resists."[3][4]

In June 2025, the film received a grant from the Doha Film Institute.[2][5]

Release

A trailer for the film was released on 31 July 2025.[6] The film had its world premiere at the 78th Locarno Film Festival on 7 August 2025.[7] It was later screened at the Toronto International Film Festival and the BFI London Film Festival.[1][8] It will also open Festival dei Popoli [it] in November 2025.[9]

Reception

Amber Wilkinson of Screen Daily called the film "a raw but poignant snapshot of Gaza during the Second Intifada".[10]

Writing for Cineuropa, Davide Abbatescianni argued that the film "serves less as an artistic experiment and more as a testament left by a witness," which "invites us to consider how cinema can preserve – and perhaps restore – spaces that have been physically destroyed but must remain alive in memory."[11]

Accolades

Award Year Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Locarno Film Festival 2025 Golden Leopard With Hasan in Gaza Nominated [12]
Europa Cinemas Label Won

References

  1. ^ a b c Sheded, Mona (8 August 2025). "Palestine's Kamal Aljafari talks Locarno competitor 'With Hasan In Gaza'". Screen Daily. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
  2. ^ a b c Goodfellow, Melanie (24 June 2025). "Doha Film Institute Gets Behind Upcoming Movies By Cyril Aris, Ahmed Yassin Al-Daradji & Danielle Arbid In Spring Funding Round". Deadline. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  3. ^ Szalai, Georg (1 August 2025). "Israel, Gaza, Iraq, Lebanon, Korea: Political and Dystopian Films in the Locarno Spotlight". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  4. ^ Meza, Ed (7 August 2025). "Kamal Aljafari's Locarno Competition Opener 'With Hasan in Gaza' Rediscovers Lost Existence of Land and People". Variety. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  5. ^ Rosser, Michael (25 June 2025). "Ahmed Yassin Al-Daradji, Cyril Aris projects among Doha Film Institute spring selection". Screen Daily. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  6. ^ Szalai, Georg (31 July 2025). "'With Hasan in Gaza' Is a Cinematic "Homage to Gaza and Its People" (Exclusive Locarno Trailer)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
  7. ^ Ntim, Zac (8 July 2025). "Locarno: Radu Jude, Abdellatif Kechiche & 'Viet And Nam' Filmmaker Trương Minh Quý Among Directors Set To Debut New Works In Competition". Deadline. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  8. ^ Ntim, Zac (3 September 2025). "BFI London Film Festival: Chloé Zhao's 'Hamnet' & Kate Moss Biopic 'Moss & Feud' Among Headline Titles — Full List". Deadline. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  9. ^ De Marco, Camillo (23 October 2025). "With Hasan in Gaza to open Festival dei Popoli". Cineuropa. Retrieved 24 October 2025.
  10. ^ Wilkinson, Amber (7 August 2025). "'With Hasan In Gaza' review: Palestinian filmmaker journeys through rediscovered footage in poignant documentary". Screen Daily. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
  11. ^ Abbatescianni, Davide (11 August 2025). "Review: With Hasan in Gaza". Cineuropa. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  12. ^ Balaga, Marta (16 August 2025). "Sho Miyake's 'Two Seasons, Two Strangers' Wins at Locarno". Variety. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=With_Hasan_in_Gaza&oldid=1357956463"