A SCOTTISH-BASED firm is set to bring a documentary shot by 22 different Palestinian filmmakers about their day-to-day lives living in a warzone to UK cinemas.
The anthology documentary, From Ground Zero, showcases' dozens of emerging Palestinian artists as they share messages of heartbreak and defiance which will be available in cinemas across the UK from September 12.
The Glasgow-based distributor Cosmic Cat will release the film which has been described as an extraordinary time capsule of a visceral response to an ongoing catastrophe as the artist’s call to bear witness the crimes being committed in Palestine.
Produced by Palestinian filmmaker Rashid Masharawi and executive producer, and two-time Oscar winner, Michael Moore, each film featured on From Ground Zero rages in length from, three to six minutes, and presents a different perspective of the lived reality in Gaza.
The collective of filmmakers aims to give the audience an on-the-ground, intimate perspective of a territory now so often viewed through war and casualty footage and will be able to be viewed across the UK, including at the Glasgow Film Theatre.
Using a mix of genres including documentary, docu-fiction, stop-motion animation, and experimental cinema, From Ground Zero has been critically acclaimed for its ability to capture the experiences of Palestinian life, including the immense challenges and tragedies of navigating the warzone each day.
Shot in between, and sometimes during, bombing raids across nine months from 2023-2024 From Ground Zero features short films like Damo Nidal’s Everything Is Fine which follows the daily life of a comedian before he performs his stand-up set in a bombed venue.
Other shorts like, Neda’a Abu Hassnah’s Out of Frame sees artist Ranin Al Zeriei surveying the remainder of her destroyed studio, while Reema Mahmoud’s documentary, Selfies, sits with a young woman while she applies her make-up to hide the physical signs of trauma.
Meanwhile, shorts like Khamis Masharawi’s Soft Skin which captures young children using stop-motion animation to relay the nightmare experience of their parents writing their family names on their limbs in case a bomb hits, aims to showcase the horrors Palestinians have faced during Israel’s brutal bombardment on Gaza.
Those behind From Ground Zero claim that the screenings aim to serve as a reminder that despite previous efforts to silence them, as the film was stricken from the 2024 Cannes line-up on political grounds after initially being accepted, Palestinian people’s voices are louder than ever through art and film.
You can click here to find out more information about screenings and tickets.
