One does not primarily go to Sundance to view what will be available in the local Multiplex in a month or two. Rather, be expecting to have an eye-opening movie experience. Maybe you'll like it and maybe you won't.
Gaza is at heart a documentary, but edited with a narrative arc that made it seems like a layered story line with several families. All the stories involving living in Gaza, described as a 25 mile by 7 mile area, blocked to the north by Israel, blocked to the south by Egypt and blocked by the Mediterranean Sea, where Israel ships enforce a 3 mile limit.
As a result of this siege, prompted by a 2014 war and election of Hamas-backed leadership, Israel has withdrawn all of its settlements in Gaza. While humanitarian aid does come in, the local citizens must make do with what they have to raise families, earn a living and hope for a better tomorrow.
Some of the families featured were the Bakr family, where the husband strives to make a living as a fisherman, while living in a refugee camp with 3 wives and 20 children. Another man featured is a taxi driver who has recently been imprisoned for 20 months in a debtors prison. Another is a young teenage girl who plays her cello and hopes to study abroad if the opportunity ever comes. The thought of going to America is like going to the moon for her.
Andrew McConnell, Director of Photography did an excellent job with the various everyday shots, from the basics of getting a haircut or having a cup of coffee to military jet bombings (not explicitly stated who was responsible), paramedics treated wounded and tire fires which are quite a sight to see.
Thought-provoking, spotlighting another part of the world, out of the ordinary. Director Garry Keane said it took a lot of editing of 250 hours of footage over several years to make this 90 minute movie. No wonder it beat the Sundance odds: 14,500 entries for 100 spots.
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