‘Once Upon a Time in Gaza’ arrives in Portuguese cinemas a few months after the two Palestinian filmmakers won the Best Director award in the “Un Certain Regard” section of the Cannes Film Festival in May, France.
‘Once Upon a Time in Gaza’ is described by critics as a dark comedy and action film, focusing on corruption and propaganda in the Gaza Strip between 2007 and 2010.
“With our film, we aim to present Gaza through a perspective different from the distorted one commonly shown. We want to paint an authentic picture of our city, free from stereotypes and exaggerations that have become the globally accepted narrative,” the two directors state in the press dossier released.
The narrative begins in 2007, a choice that was not random. “It represents a critical turning point that significantly impacted the course of events in Gaza up to the present day. It was the year following [the Palestinian Islamist movement] Hamas’s victory in the legislative elections,” they explained.
In the same press dossier, the filmmakers express a dream to “someday make a purely Palestinian film, completely detached from politics.”
“But that dream will only be possible when Palestinians secure their fundamental human rights and finally live as ‘normal’ people in a ‘normal’ world, based on justice, freedom, and dignity,” they emphasize.
Upon receiving the award in May at Cannes, Arab Nasser and Tarzan Nasser hailed a “free Palestine,” and days earlier had highlighted the international community and cultural industry’s approach to the human drama in Palestine.
‘Once Upon a Time in Gaza’ receives support from the Instituto do Cinema e do Audiovisual, RTP, and the European funding program Eurimages. The co-production involved Germany, France, Palestine, and Portugal.
According to the production company, which was also involved in the co-production of the film “Gaza, my Love,” the two directors completed editing, sound mixing, special effects, and color correction in Portugal.
Arab and Tarzan Nasser were born in Gaza in 1988 but left the territory in 2011, subsequently filming in Jordan. In 2013, they presented the short film “Condom Lead” in Cannes and, in 2020, “Gaza, my Love” at the Venice Film Festival (Italy).
