Aisheen - Still alive in Gaza

Nicolas Wadimoff
Qatar, Switzerland 2010 | 86 Min. | 35 mm, OmeU

A sit­u­a­tion report from the Gaza Strip in Feb­ru­ary 2009, just one month after the end of Israel’s mil­i­tary offen­sive. Destruc­tion every­where. The bombs did not even spare the theme park. The ghost train is out of order. But hasn’t Gaza itself become a ghost town? Yes and no. Amid ruins, grief and despair, there are people who refuse to give up. Calmly and unspec­tac­u­lar­ly, with­out analy­sis or agi­ta­tion, this film shows what it means to rebuild one’s life and daily common exis­tence in a destroyed region that is cut off by an ongo­ing block­ade. It trans­mits diverse impres­sions and voices from Gaza: chil­dren who have lost their rel­a­tives and young people who do not feel like taking a com­pul­so­ry vaca­tion, clowns who despite the nearby rocket fire still manage to make chil­dren laugh, and the polit­i­cal­ly­commit­ted Darg Team rap­pers whose music is polar­iz­ing. It not only shows places such as the border cross­ing into Egypt, the hos­pi­tal, the UN Food Dis­tri­b­u­tion Center, the smug­glers’ tun­nels and the refugee camps, but also the beach and the zoo. That’s where the skele­ton of a whale is being recon­struct­ed. A beau­ti­ful image, despite everything.