The Palestinian director Kamal Aljafari recently rediscovered three MiniDV tapes capturing moments of life in Gaza from 2001.What started as a search for a former prison mate from 1989 ‒a man lost to time and war‒ led to an unexpected road trip from the north to the south of Gaza with Hasan, a local guide whose fate remains unknown. As the camera moves through Gaza’s streets and landscapes, it records fleeting moments of everyday life ‒ fragments of a reality now irreversibly altered. With Hasan in Gaza transforms this forgotten footage into a cinematic and poetic reflection on memory, loss and the passage of time, while also serving as a testament to a place and time that no longer exist. The film was awarded the Europa Cinemas Label Award at the Locarno Film Festival.
Palestinian director Kamal Aljafari creates unique cinematic works. His award-winning film A Film About Fidai has been screened at over 100 festivals, and his latest film, With Hassan in Gaza, was honored with the Europa Cinemas Label Award at the Locarno Film Festival. As a fellow of Harvard University's Radcliffe Institute and Columbia University, he has been honored with major retrospective exhibitions at institutions such as the Portuguese Film Archive.
