Title image from Gaza in Context

Gaza in Context, and Gaza Fixer: a Chronicle of Survival (2017)

Two Shorts

Monday, September 18, 6:45 p.m.
The Little Theatre, #5
240 East Ave Rochester, NY 14604

Gaza In Context

Panelist: Co-director Noura Erakat will join us via Skype

Film Type & Length: Documentary, 20 mins.
Produced by: Quilting Point Productions

Two years after the onslaught on Gaza that killed over 2,200 people, a group of activists, academics, and artists have produced a new teaching video that aims at shifting the western narrative of the conflict.

Gaza in Context, narrated by Noura Erakat, points out the historic roots of the conflict: for 70 years Israel has sought as much Palestinian land with as few Palestinians on it as possible, and the peace process has only served as a cover for this project. Erakat uses simple descriptions to convey the reality, that Israel now seeks to accustom Palestinians to “domination as a way of life– an unfathomable possibility to all humans, whose first instinct is to be free.”

The film avoids the term Zionism entirely, and identifies the root of the conflict as settler colonialism. “This is a human-made disaster,” Erakat explains, and its resolution is a political one that depends on all of us to take action.

Gaza in Context is a fantastic educational instrument, conveying in 20 minutes what it would take most people a lifetime to learn. It gives an accurate and visually brilliant portrayal of the tragedy that has befallen not only Gaza, but the entire Palestinian people.”
​​​-Dr. Richard Falk, Professor Emeritus of International law, Princeton University, former United Nations Special Rapporteur to the Occupied Palestinian Territories. ​

 – See more at: Mondoweiss: ‘Gaza in Context’ says root of conflict is quest for Palestinian land, without Palestinians 

Gaza Fixer: A Chronicle of Survival

Film Type & Length: Documentary, 58 min.
Source: Al Jazeera

Raed Atharmneh is a six-time war survivor, patriarch, and trusted news fixer to foreign reporters covering Gaza. In 2006 he became part of the story when eighteen members of his family were killed by an Israeli bomb. As he gives aid workers and journalists tours, he is the one who actually talks to the people, and translates the story of their fate to the foreigners eagerly recoding, writing, filming, the tragedy that Gaza has become.

His colleague, photojournalist George Azar, has witnessed Gaza’s trauma in extreme close-up and through his observational filming of Raed himself, as well as over nine years of friendship. He captures the defining moments of Raed’s life – destruction, endurance, humour and unimaginable loss – with remarkable intimacy.

In an ongoing chronicle of Raed’s life, Israel’s 2014 war on the Gaza Strip leaves the family reeling, and Raed struggling to imagine the future. One gets to see, through the story of Raed and his constant determination to make life better for his family, the conditions of the Palestinian people and the oppressive conditions under which they live.  His courage, kindness, and positive spirit give testimony to the hope that remains in the hearts of the Palestinian people despite unimaginable struggles.

– See more at: Al Jazeera: Gaza Fixer — A Chronicle of Survival