A new film academy for aspiring filmmakers in war-torn Gaza is being launched at Venice, backed by some of the biggest names in Palestinian and Arab cinema, including Oscar-nominated director Kaouther Ben Hania.
The Gaza Cinema Academy aims to give young Palestinians, particularly women, access to film education, training and production while helping a new generation tell their own stories and bring their work to international audiences.
Ben Hania, director of The Voice of Hind Rajab, is joined by Palestinian filmmakers and academy co-founders Mai Masri and Ezzaldeen Shalh, as well as Palestine 36 director Annemarie Jacir and actors Hiam Abbass, Ramy Youssef and Saleh Bakri.
The academy is also supported by Italian producer Graziella Bildesheim and Alaa Karkouti, co-founder and managing partner of Arab-led entertainment studio MAD Solutions.
In a statement issued on Monday, the initiative said it aims to establish a sustainable space for film education, training and production in Gaza, "while connecting emerging Palestinian filmmakers with the wider international film community".
According to the statement, the academy will focus "on film education and training, supporting young talent and women, developing and producing new Palestinian films, strengthening the presence of filmmakers in Gaza and their connections with the Palestinian, Arab and international film communities, and building a sustainable film institution in the Gaza Strip."
"The academy aspires to build an international network of partners that supports emerging film talent in Gaza, strengthens opportunities for learning and production, and helps their films reach festivals, platforms and audiences around the world," the statement said.
It added that the initiative also aims to establish relationships with film festivals and other cultural institutions, as well as film funds and production companies.
In a separate statement, academy co-founder Shalh stressed that in Gaza "cinema is not merely an art form; it is a means of preserving memory", saying it is imperative for Palestinian artists to reclaim "our right to shape our own image, and giving a new generation the tools to tell its own story".
"We want the academy to open a window for young people and women in Gaza to learn, create and make their own films, and for their voices and images to reach the world. We invite our partners in institutions, universities and the international film community to be part of building this space," he added.
The launch comes as two Palestinian films feature in Venice's official selection this year: Ahmed Hassouna's Al Mowaten Osama (Citizen Osama) and Muayad Alayan's Conversation With the Sea.
Citizen Osama follows a photographer turned war reporter balancing his roles as a father and journalist while documenting the realities of the nearly three-year genocidal war in Gaza.
The film has also been selected to represent Palestine at the Academy Awards.
Meanwhile, Conversation With the Sea centres on Kamal, a 60-year-old Palestinian man who becomes caught up in a complex web of Israeli bureaucracy as he searches for the truth about a son believed to have drowned decades earlier.
The Gaza Cinema Academy's launch also comes ahead of the Gaza International Women's Film Festival, co-founded by Shalh, which is due to take place in central Gaza from 26 to 31 October, beginning on Palestinian Women's Day.
Organisers have warned that civilians continue to face significant security risks from Israeli military operations during gatherings across the Gaza Strip amid Israel's ongoing offensive.
Those risks extend to attendees and participants at local cultural events, including the Gaza International Women's Film Festival.
The festival is expected to take place in makeshift settings, including tents and areas where infrastructure has been severely damaged by Israeli forces, according to reports.
Organisers have chosen "Women Creating Life from Death" as the theme for this year's event and unveiled an official poster depicting a blindfolded woman wrapped in strips of film, surrounded by Palestinian symbols and doves of peace.