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Title: The Phoenix of Gaza
Runtime: 48 min
Country: Palestine, State of
Director: Yousef Alhelou
Placement: Award of Merit
Competition: September, 2025
Synopsis: 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 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 and 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 realize 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 lasted for over 560 days so far
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.
Augmented by a reflective interview with Yousef himself, [The Phoenix of Gaza] provides a tragic glimpse of a society soon to be destroyed, and their perspectives in response. The film demonstrates that Gaza and its long suffering resilient residents will not vanish and will rise from the ashes.
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.
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 continued to be denied their right to freedom of movement from and into the costal Gaza Strip and rule themselves, 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 10th December 2023 by an Israeli strike on their home. They remain buried under rubble. Dozens of Yousef’s relatives and journalist colleagues are among the near 66,000 killed between October 8th 2023 and Oct 8th 2025.