ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA

2025, dirs. Tarzan Nasser, Arab Nasser
France, Palestine, Germany, Portugal, Qatar, Jordan; 90 min.
In Arabic with English subtitles

In 2007, Yahya is working at his friend Osama’s falafel shop in Gaza, which doubles as a front for drug dealing. His entanglement in the operation leads him to witness a terrible crime. Years later, Gaza’s Ministry of Culture randomly chooses Yahya to star in a TV series that highlights martyrs and heroes of the resistance. As conflict simmers in the background, Yahya unexpectedly receives real weapons, heightening the stakes as the show provides him with a chance to confront the person responsible for the offense that changed his life.

Preceded by the short films:

A SHORT FILM ABOUT A CHAIR

2024, dir. Ibrahim Handal, 10 min.

A lonely chair on an abandoned balcony, a photographer watching it day and night. A strange thing happens that will change the life of the chair for ever.

STUCK

2025, dir. Usman Ally, 11 min.

On the morning of October 7th, Dana — a drifting young Palestinian-American woman — wakes up to a world that’s suddenly shifted. Haunted by the younger spirit of her father, a legendary activist, she’s pushed to confront her fear, her inheritance, and her voice as tensions rise around her.