Palestinian women’s stories take center stage at Gaza International Festival for Women's Cinema

By Anadolu staff

GAZA, Palestine (AA) - The Gaza International Festival for Women's Cinema was held Sunday in the Gaza Strip.

The event, which took place in the central city of Deir al-Balah, aimed to highlight the suffering of Palestinian women during Israel’s two-year-long attacks on the enclave.

The festival was organized in cooperation with the Palestinian Ministry of Culture and with the participation of local and international art institutions.

The opening featured the film The Voice of Hind Rajab, which won the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival.

The film tells the story of the five-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab, who was killed along with her family on Jan. 29, 2024 when their car was hit by Israeli fire in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza City.

The festival is held within the framework of the Palestinian Women’s National Day, officially declared by the Palestinian Authority in 2019, and aims to support women’s roles in social struggle.

Festival founder Ezzaldeen Shalh said the event was established to give women a voice through cinema.

“The Gaza International Women’s Film Festival was born amid the genocide faced by women who lost their spouses and families. We wanted to create a platform where women could tell their own stories,” he added.

Shelah also noted that the festival seeks to encourage Palestinian women to participate in filmmaking and provide an educational space to take their work to international festivals.

According to the Gaza Government Media Office, more than 12,500 Palestinian women have lost their lives during Israel’s attacks on Gaza.

Israel has killed more than 68,000 people and injured over 170,000 in two years of attacks in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023.