Sunday 7 June
Seven Arts, Leeds, LS7 3PD
60 Minutes with Subtitles
Join us after the film for a Q&A with the British-Palestinian Director Yousef Alhelou
This film has been screened in 24 countries so far, from as far as the Maldives and Brazil, and has won many Film Festival awards.
After a decade away from home, beginning in 2013 with a fellowship at the Reuters Institute for the study of journalism at Oxford University, Yousef decided to travel back to Gaza in the summer of 2023 to reconnect with the people and places of his childhood. His intention was to make a documentary film, which would reveal the hidden beauties, joys, and treasures of Gaza. Yousef created extensive reportage of Gaza’s historic buildings, recreational spaces, its beach life, its olive, fruit groves & orchards, its museums, mosques, churches, restaurants, shopping malls, markets, graduation and wedding ceremonies, cultural heritage as well as capturing rare aerial footage of Gaza.
Little did Yousef realise the footage taken during his 2 months trip would become some of the final records of the cultural, social and recreational life of the besieged and blockaded enclave prior to its absolute destruction by Israel beginning on October 8th 2023, a devastating war has lasted for over 750 days so far.
It is a unique personal film, shot just weeks before the genocide began, showing rare footage of Gaza before its destruction and now serves as an archive of its past.
Growing up a descendant of refugees under Israeli occupation, Yousef’s life was shaped by the relentless conflict around him. This environment, harsh as it was, ignited in him a passion for journalism, a tool he hoped to use to share the truths of his homeland.
Yousef’s unique and personal records of Gaza in 2023 serve as a valuable archive of the colossal scale of the genocide meted out not only on the lives and homes of Gazans, but also on the civic, historical, cultural and heritage landmarks, recreational sites, resorts, hotels, parks, the beach, as well as all aspects of life.
Selecting material from Yousef’s extensive archive, The Phoenix of Gaza is a personal film. It invites viewers to see Gaza through Yousef’s eyes – a place where, despite occupation, blockade and a military onslaught by Israel, Gazans exercise a creativity and resilience, and a beauty that refuses to be extinguished.
What was meant to be a documentary about life turned into eulogy for a city and its people.
A people who, despite decades of occupation, blockade and hardship, continue to celebrate life in its fullest expression.
The film not only documents and reenacts the social and cultural life in Gaza before the genocide, but also contributes to shaping collective memory by leaving behind a visual archive of a life that was targeted for erasure. At the same time, it invites us to rethink the role of journalism, media, including films, not as limited to professional neutrality, but as an active force in confronting dominant narratives and in rebuilding memory and meaning through counter-stories and the restoration of the humanity of an entire people.
Yes, Gaza was a big prison under siege, but its people defied the collective punishment and sever restrictions on imports and exports. With their determination, they decorated their prison, they adapted and resisted the submission to the humiliation. They have been denied for decades their right to freedom of movement between Gaza and the occupied West Bank and into the outside world as the war-torn territory is still under Israel’s control from the land, air and sea.
Yousef’s sister and her seven children were killed on 11th December 2023 by an Israeli strike on their home. They remained buried under rubble for over 2 years. Dozens of Yousef’s relatives and over 245 journalist colleagues are among the near 75,000 killed between October 8th 2023 and Oct 18th 2025.
