Resilience and Identity: The Role of Cinema in Shaping Gaza's Cultural Narrative at the Cairo Film Festival

This film continues to achieve great success on the festival circuit, having also been featured at the 46th Cairo Film Festival. In the ongoing situation in Gaza, there has been a significant erasure of its people, culture, and identity. In this context, it is essential to spotlight the films emerging from the region, as they powerfully express resilience and cultural heritage.

One such film, Once Upon a Time in Gaza, has gained international acclaim by being showcased at the Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard category. Its exceptional storytelling and direction won it the Best Directing Award, marking a notable milestone for Palestinian cinema.

The film, reminiscent of a Western, is the creation of Palestinian directors Tarzan and Arab Nasser (also known as Ahmed and Mohamed Abunasser).

Born in the Gaza Strip in 1988, the twin brothers strive to depict their homeland with humor and subtle social commentary. Their stories often revolve around everyday people living in Gaza.

The film adopts a vintage 1960s Spaghetti Western style, drawing inspiration from Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West and Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

The story is set in Gaza in 2007, focusing on Yahya, a student who forms an unlikely friendship with Osama, a charismatic restaurant owner and small-time criminal with a good heart. Together, they delve into the world of drug sales, specifically dealing in painkillers prescribed by Osama's doctor. To obtain these medications, Osama cleverly takes pages from the doctor's prescription book, allowing him to get the painkillers from local pharmacies. They creatively hide the pills inside falafel sandwiches for sale. Despite their contrasting personalities—Osama's boldness versus Yahya's more anxious nature—they find themselves in trouble with a corrupt police officer.

The narrative jumps two years ahead, shifting focus as a traumatized Yahya is approached by a film director. Yahya resembles a militant—whose funeral is shown at the beginning of the movie—and he is cast to play him in an action film sponsored by Gaza’s Ministry of Culture. Yahya finds himself on a set where real weapons are used.

The film's two chapters differ significantly: the first centers on the town's daily life, particularly Osama at the falafel shop, while the second emphasizes Yahya's transformation into a symbol of Palestinian resistance, portraying a soldier who becomes a martyr, or Shaheed.

The concept of a film-within-a-film explores the relationship between cinema and reality, suggesting that fiction can serve as a form of resistance. Themes of resistance and martyrdom remain central to Palestinian culture.

The situation in Gaza is ever-present, reflected in the newspaper headlines used to wrap falafel, or in the daily lives of Gaza’s people, such as when a Palestinian actor portraying an IDF soldier is mistaken for a real soldier by a passerby.

The film consistently references the struggle against Israel, from the drones circling overhead to a humorous scene where an actor playing an Israeli officer in a promotional video refuses to step on a Palestinian flag.

Near the end, flashbacks reveal brighter days when Osama and Yahya first met.

Through its narrative, the film illustrates the daily realities faced by the people of Gaza, emphasizing their resilience and endurance in the face of challenging circumstances, evocative of "living inside a prison sealed from every direction."

Filming began in 2024 in Jordan, a year after the October 7, 2023, attacks that led to Israel’s extensive actions in Gaza. Gaza remains the central inspiration. The city is portrayed as a character, reflecting the belief that Palestinians, especially those in Gaza, lack the support other nations receive, yet they create life and never give up.

The film meticulously reconstructs daily life in Gaza, allowing the audience to experience the sights, sounds, and smells of the falafel, the faces of the people, the shops, the doctors’ offices, and the film set, all driven by the desire to tell their story.

While some criticize the film for being pro-resistance, the directors clearly take a stand, unafraid to shoot from within.

At the end, large words appear on the screen in Arabic and English: "One Day. It will end."

Scenes from the film made within the movie appear, with words declaring, "We will liberate our homeland." Additionally, "Allah is our guide." We see a body being carried by soldiers, accompanied by the words, "The story of people under occupation choosing resistance to liberate the homeland." The title of the movie shot in the second part is "THE REBEL," and we see its trailer as filming on set begins.

The history of Gaza’s people is woven into its narrative, like when Osama tells his doctor he is in pain, saying, "I was hurt in the intifada, I need strong painkillers."

This intense drama employs various film genres—revenge thriller, action movie, comedy—to comment on Gaza’s current plight indirectly but powerfully, while also providing historical context on life and struggles in Gaza City.

The film opens with a plain black screen, and Donald Trump's voice-over introduces his wild plan to turn Gaza into "the Riviera of the Middle East."

What makes this movie remarkable is its ability to allow the people of Gaza and their environment to tell their own stories in an engaging way.

Its powerful narrative underscores the remarkable resilience of Gaza's residents, suggesting that the dream of the "Riviera of the Middle East" could truly evolve into an inspiring reality, shaped by the very individuals who call this place home. The film's profound message resonates deeply, highlighting the strength and hope of a community often overlooked in broader narratives.