To Shoot an Elephant

Alberto Arce, Mohammed Rujailah

What is it like to live in the Gaza Strip, an area of about 140 square miles that is home to one and a half million Palestinians? Unemployment is high and almost half the population is under fourteen year. In 'To Shoot an Elephant' director Alberto Arce zooms in on life in Gaza, which is occupied by Israel. As a member of the International Solidarity Movement, one of the few aid organisations that is still active in the Gaza Strip, Arce was filming there late 2008 and early 2009, when fighting between Israel and Hamas intensified. Approximately 1,300 civilians were killed in the hostilities and air attacks that took place during that period. Arce was one of the few foreign journalists that witnessed the shelling from within the Gaza Strip. The filmmaker turns his camera on the ambulance personnel. They take the dead and wounded off the street, putting their own lives on the line. When they try to shelter a corpse, they get fired at.
The International Solidarity Movement is also featured in the film 'Rachel', which can be seen at the Movies that Matter Festival, too. Alberto Arce will be present at the festival.

Credits

Director
Alberto Arce, Mohammed Rujailah
Producer
Adam Redgrove
Year
2009
Country of production
Spain
Type
Documentary
Duration
112 minutes
Spoken language
Arabic, English
Subtitles
EN
Production company
Eguzki Bideoak
World Sales
Eguzki Bideoak