“From Ground Zero: Stories from Gaza”
How does an individual make sense of what is happening to them and their lives when experiencing a period in history that defies explanation?
Rashid Mashasrawi, a Palestinian film director who was born in Gaza and grew up in the Shati refugee camp, initiated an anthology film project that stands as a testament to the realities experienced on the ground in Gaza after October 7.
Chosen through a committee process formulated to select work that delivered a cohesive message, the twenty-two entries feature stories ranging from documentary to animation. Running times are between three to six minutes.
The contrast between the utter destruction of decimated buildings with the beach and waves of the Mediterranean Sea is palpable. There is a metaphorical analogy between stark constriction and elusive freedom.
In “From Ground Zero,” numerous themes are ubiquitous in depicting daily routines while individualized and translated through each creator’s prism. People wait to use a toilet in a city of tents. They seek bread or canned goods that haven’t expired. Sorrow and suffering persist during the ongoing search for loved ones who are either buried beneath rubble or already deceased. Bombs are ever-present as people rush to find potential safety. The constant noise of overhead drones becomes an unrelenting buzzing in each Gazan’s head. With as many as two hundred dead in an hour, attempting to live a “normal” existence is barely possible. Yet, girls play hopscotch while singing. A mother engages in caregiving routines after tracking down and gathering water for drinking, cooking, and bathing her children. Previous displacement stories from cities like Jaffa and Haifa are shared.
For me, the most unsettling stories capture the faces of innocent children forced to accept the ongoing tragedy as their current fate.
“Soft Skin” by Khamis Masharawi shows youngsters creating an animated film. Masharawi is one of the organizers of the Fekra Foundation in Gaza, which uses film creation as an art therapy. The theme of “Soft Skin” is how mothers write the names of their kids on their body parts—arms and legs—so that in the event of death or dismemberment, their limbs can be identified. The children can’t sleep until they rub away these markings.
Ahmed Al Danaf’s “A School Day” was particularly poignant. A young boy puts his schoolbooks into a bag. He walks through wreckage and debris, ostensibly to attend classes. Rather, his destination is the grave of his teacher, killed on December 1, 2024. There, he takes out a book and begins to read. Later, after returning home, he is shown struggling to obliterate the day’s memories through bedtime
In “Overload” by Alaa Islam Ayoub, the main character must decide what to take with her on the “trip north’ in November 2023. As she wonders which items to bring, she questions, “What could be heavier than my grief?” She compares herself to Ruqayya in the novel “The Woman from Tantoura,” who is also “trapped” in her own story. Pondering her unfolding circumstances, she questions, “What is heavier than oppression?”
“Taxi Wanissa” by Etimad Washah begins with a shot of a goat-drawn cart that takes people around the Gaza Strip, beginning an initial storyline before the screen goes black. The director appears and explains that as she was filming, she learned about the death of her brother and his children. Washah lost the desire to continue the work. She states, “It shattered me.” Feeling alone and unable to do anything, she describes her intended arc of the main character dying in a bombing and the donkey returning home alone. Her testimony provides the conclusion to her piece.
Hana Elevia presents a story of joy in “No,” underscoring the healing power of music by singing a song dedicated to love and hope, “to pursue your dreams and build Palestine.” Her approach stands in contrast with the portrayals of unrelenting destruction. As Alla Damo explains in “24 Hours,” he was subjected to attacks three times within one day. He comments, “Every stage of my life was demolished in front of my eyes.”
“Hell’s Heaven” by Karim Satoum offers a solution that would be at home in the Theatre of the Absurd. After figuring out how to requisition a white plastic body bag from an outpost that offers free washing and burial for the dead, Satoum uses it to sleep in at night because it keeps him warm. The reality of death is a constant companion for those in Gaza. Satoum takes a measure of agency over his situation by preparing himself for what may become an inevitability.
Throughout this collage of Palestinian voices and identity, a strong sense of attachment to the land comes through, along with the refusal to relive the Nakba of 1948. Director Aws Al Banna (“Jad and Natalie”) relates, “I feel such oppression, I can’t even cry.” In “Flashback,” a comment that should land with recognition (and hopefully empathy from Jews) is the statement of Islam Al Zeriei: “I always have a bag packed.”
Michael Moore is the film’s Executive Producer, an official Toronto International Film Festival selection, and a 97th Academy Awards® Shortlist Nominee for International Feature Film: Palestine. On his role in amplifying the project, Moore noted, “It’s an honor to stand in solidarity with them and help share their stories with the world.”
“From Ground Zero” has been released in theaters throughout the United States and can be rented on AppleTV and VIMEO.
All Images: Courtesy of Watermelon Pictures
