“The right to narrate”: Gazans contest popular geopolitics with film

Since the Intifada of 2000, living conditions in the Gaza Strip have progressively deteriorated, and when Hamas came to power in 2006–07, a complete blockade was enforced on the inhabitants by Egypt and Israel. In addition, five full-scale wars have been waged on the Strip. Despite these conditions, Gazans remain resilient, as evidenced by several recent cultural productions. This article analyses a number of films that endeavour to show the human face of Gaza; and the way in which, amidst the ruins, Gazans construct a semblance of normal life. Films directed by Hany Abu-Assad, Rashid Masharawi, Arab/Tarzan Nasser, and Susan Youssef illustrate the hardships Gazans endure, but also navigate the complexity of their situation, allowing individual and communal stories to emerge. Abject reality and violence become secondary, as the protagonists are reconstituted in a way that challenges the confinement and politics of the territory