Visual Diary: Gaza’s Human Rights Film Fest
In her latest from Palestine, Fovrth’s Anna Therese Day shares behind-the-scenes photos from Gaza’s Annual Red Carpet Human Rights Film Festival
Gaza Strip, Palestine — This past December, filmmakers and activists unrolled what is perhaps the world’s most unlikely red carpet… for Gaza’s Annual Red Carpet Human Rights Film Festival!
Despite a whirlwind of dangers— Israeli airstrikes, extremist threats, and a government crackdown — the filmmakers of Gaza defiantly opened for the fifth consecutive year, stating firmly that the show will go on. This year’s festival screened the global hit documentary films GAZA and For Sama, and hosted live events across Gaza, Jerusalem, and the West Bank.
The festival culminated with its closing ceremony on December 10th, the anniversary of the International Declaration of Human Rights approved by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948. This year’s festival theme was “I Am Human,” a reminder to the world of the Palestinian people’s human rights and those of other civilians in conflict who are denied their dignity and protections guaranteed under international law.
Fovrth’s Anna Therese Day was in the Gaza Strip, reporting on the festival and the ongoing conflict in Israel-Palestine, and we’ll share those dispatches when they air. In the meantime, here are some behind-the-scenes photos from the World’s Most Unlikely Film Festival, and cheers to all the creators and organizers for bringing such an incredible event to Gaza year after year — we anxiously await for the day the blockade is lifted so everyone can travel freely to see what a special event you’ve created in Gaza.
Follow Red Carpet Human Rights Film Fest for more information and to support Palestinian cinema and human rights.
