With Hasan in Gaza

It is 2001 in Gaza, and Palestinian filmmaker and visual artist Kamal Aljafari travels from north to south, accompanied by a MiniDV camera, searching for a man he met while briefly imprisoned as a teenager. The footage, now nearly a quarter-century old and unseen by the filmmaker until recently, unfolds with a tranquil, unhurried rhythm. From beaches, cars, homes, cafés, and market stalls, Aljafari’s youthful camera captures quiet moments of daily, dignified life — the smiling faces of children, each as beautiful to behold as they are agonizing. Haunting and mournful, yet bursting with vitality, this is an essential work by a major filmmaker. With Hasan in Gaza is an aching witness to the struggle of the Palestinian people and the beauty of a land now barely recognisable — capturing lives and streets that may now exist only in memory.

Co-presented with Palestinian Film Festival Australia