In the last month, 10,022 Palestinians have lost their lives, including more than 4,000 children, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health on Monday 6 November.
Roland Nurier shows the legendary resilience of the people of Gaza in his new film, Yallah Gaza, leur rage de vivre. What if the Palestinians in Gaza were "just a normal people living in a totally abnormal environment", wonders the French filmmaker, who in 2019 made his first film, Le char et l'olivier, une autre histoire de la Palestine?
In "Yallah Gaza", Roland Nurier gives a voice to Gazan citizens from civil society, who are involved in economic, educational, health, social, cultural and sporting life, thus testifying to the vitality of the population. Social workers Wissam Mohamed Hammad and Iktimal Eghareb explain the day-to-day difficulties faced by Gazan families, exacerbated by confinement and the trauma of frequent bombardments.
Testimonies from Palestinian political leaders are also included: Hassan Albalawi, member of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), adviser to the Palestinian mission to the European Union (EU); Bassem Naim, member of Hamas, former Minister of Health, responsible for international relations; Maryam Abu Daqqa, responsible for Gaza for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
Critical Israeli voices, such as Éléonore Bronstein, a Franco-Israeli researcher and co-founder of the De-Colonizer association; Ronnie Barkan, an anti-Zionist Israeli dissident; and Yonatan Shapira, a former pilot in the Israeli air force, provide a different perspective on Israeli society.
A troupe of young male and female dabke dancers performing a choreography on and in the devastated buildings of a Gaza neighbourhood following one of the many destructions perpetrated by the Israeli army provide breaths of fresh air throughout the film.
The director did not obtain permission to enter Gaza. The Gaza section of the film was therefore made in close collaboration with a French-speaking Gazan cinematographer, Iyad Alasttal, who is also a director, documentary filmmaker and creator of the "Gaza stories" series.