Gaza Open-air Cinema a Breath of Fresh Air for Palestinians

Palestinian children watch a film at a pop-up open-air cinema in Gaza city - AFP
Palestinian children watch a film at a pop-up open-air cinema in Gaza city - AFP
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Gaza Open-air Cinema a Breath of Fresh Air for Palestinians

Palestinian children watch a film at a pop-up open-air cinema in Gaza city - AFP
Palestinian children watch a film at a pop-up open-air cinema in Gaza city - AFP

Gaza residents took their seats in front of a large projector screen set up on a sandy beach, a rare event in the blockaded enclave that has no operating cinemas.

Over two weeks in summer, the "Cinema of the Sea" festival which ended Monday screened some 15 films, many of them with Palestinian actors or producers.

Providing a respite from the heat, the waterfront "is the only outlet for the residents" in the impoverished territory, said Ali Muhanna, a theater director involved in the initiative.

Around 2.3 million Palestinians live in the Gaza Strip, which has been under a crippling Israeli-led blockade since Hamas seized power in 2007.

Sitting barefoot in a pink dress at the open-air cinema on Gaza City's beach, seven-year-old Salma Shamaleh was transfixed by the screen.

"I have never seen a TV this size," she told AFP as she watched "Ferdinand", an animated blockbuster that tells the story of a giant but soft-hearted black bull.

The first film screenings in Gaza date to the 1940s, with the opening of the Samer Cinema, whose building now houses a car dealership.

Cinemas were forced to close in the late 1980s during the first Palestinian uprising, or intifada. They reopened following the establishment of the Palestinian Authority in the 1990s but for years have largely been gathering dust.

Like across much of the eastern Mediterranean, Gazans have flocked to the seaside in recent weeks to escape soaring temperatures.

Shamaleh was thrilled by the cinematic experience. "Our house is nearby, I'll ask my mum for us to come every day," she said.

The festival's program featured "Farha", a Jordanian film which, through a young girl's perspective, depicts atrocities committed against Palestinians during the 1948 conflict that led to Israel's creation.

The hard-hitting film resonated with Mona Hanafi, 50, who watched it with her daughter and dozens of other spectators.

"The film is brilliant in addressing a realistic Palestinian story... The performance and directing are impressive," she said.

"Seeing the children and people watching the open cinema in Gaza made me happy," added Hanafi.

Another audience member, Hadeel Hajji, said she had "never seen anything like that in my life".

"I was with my family when I saw the screen from far away, so I came to watch," she told AFP.

"Cinema of the Sea" was organized by Al-Bahr Elna Cooperative cafe in partnership with the culture ministry.

The cooperative was established in 2020 by a group of artists, with start-up funding from Palestinian institutions. Since that initial cash dried up, the group has relied on donations.

For Muhanna, the cafe's founder, the festival has been an opportunity to show films which demonstrate how "Palestinians contributed to producing (cinema) and conveying the values of society".

Atef Askoul, head of the Hamas-appointed body responsible for approving public art events, said Gazans who suffer from miserable living conditions under the blockade have "the right to watch films and cinema".



Animal Rescuers Care for LA Fire Evacuees - Dogs, Donkeys, Horses

FILE PHOTO: Jodi Lakatos unloads the last of her 15 horses at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center after evacuating Altadena as large animals are evacuated from several wildfires, in Burbank, California, US January 8, 2025. REUTERS/Carlin Stiehl/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Jodi Lakatos unloads the last of her 15 horses at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center after evacuating Altadena as large animals are evacuated from several wildfires, in Burbank, California, US January 8, 2025. REUTERS/Carlin Stiehl/File Photo
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Animal Rescuers Care for LA Fire Evacuees - Dogs, Donkeys, Horses

FILE PHOTO: Jodi Lakatos unloads the last of her 15 horses at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center after evacuating Altadena as large animals are evacuated from several wildfires, in Burbank, California, US January 8, 2025. REUTERS/Carlin Stiehl/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Jodi Lakatos unloads the last of her 15 horses at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center after evacuating Altadena as large animals are evacuated from several wildfires, in Burbank, California, US January 8, 2025. REUTERS/Carlin Stiehl/File Photo

The pitbull mix arrived at Pasadena Humane covered in ash, his paw pads ulcerated from walking on fire debris, his lungs choked with smoke. A good Samaritan found the dog lying in rubble in Altadena, wrapped him in a blanket and brought him to the shelter, Reuters reported.
Still too weak to walk Saturday, Canela was reunited with his owner - thanks to CNN’s coverage of the act of kindness. The injured pet continues to receive medical treatment and is one of more than 400 animals that have arrived at the Pasadena facility since the Southern California wildfires began last Tuesday.
Animal facilities, veterinarians and rescue organizations have taken in and assisted dogs, horses, donkeys, goats, sheep and other creatures that were displaced by the ongoing fires along with their human owners.
The Humane Society began accepting animals as a temporary shelter as families evacuated their homes. But circumstances evolved, along with the widening disaster, which has left 13 people dead, burned 39,000 acres (157.83 square kilometers) and forced at least 153,000 people to leave their homes.
"We are now seeing more injured animals coming in," said Dia DuVernet, president and chief executive of Pasadena Humane. “We're also starting to see people who brought their animals for what we thought would be temporary shelter, but they don't have homes to go back to, and so it's turning into a longer-term sheltering situation."
Some animals bear the scars of the ordeal, like a severely burned Husky with singed fur and burned paws.
“He hasn't had anybody come back to reclaim him,” said the humane society’s chief veterinarian, Dr. Maria Pyrdek, adding that the dog was showing gradual signs of recovery. “He wasn't even lifting his head when he came in. He was just completely exhausted.”
The organization has entered a new phase of this disaster response, search rescue and recovery, DuVernet said. Pasadena Humane is prioritizing calls to help live animals in the burn zones -- including eight injured peacocks.
One man in Altadena contacted the Humane Society for help getting water to cows, sheep and a bull that he had been unable to reach because the fire destroyed a bridge.
"We've been strategizing how we can get a significant amount of water over this ravine and up this hill, so that these animals don't perish from dehydration," said DuVernet.
Throughout the crisis, DuVernet said the community had provided enough donations to fill five U-Haul trucks.
HORSE AND DONKEY REFUGE
In nearby Burbank, the Los Angeles Equestrian Center has taken in around 400 animals, mostly horses but also a few donkeys. Some were brought in by owners who evacuated their homes and others by law enforcement who found them running loose.
The Eaton fire on the east side of Los Angeles hit a region filled with horse lovers.
"People have horses in their backyards in these neighborhoods,” said Leigh Anne Claywell, general manager of the equestrian center. "It’s been a horsey area for a long time. This is kind of where the Hollywood Western was born, because of all the cowboys and the ranches that used to be in this area.”
Some of the evacuated horses appeared stressed when they arrived in their new environment, Claywell said, "but by and large, everybody seems to have kind of stumbled into a routine."
On Saturday, dozens of volunteers helped walk and feed horses and clean the grounds. The center was packed with donations of apples and carrots for the animals and pizza and sandwiches for humans. Smoke was visible from the Palisades fire to the west and the Eaton fire to the east.
At one point, all of the center's stalls had been full. Spaces opened up as some evacuation orders were lifted and owners were able to reclaim their animals.
Karrie Saydah was picking up her two donkeys and two horses that she had brought to the center when she was forced to evacuate her home at 3:45 a.m. on Wednesday morning.
"It was so scary, a fire in the sky kind of thing," Saydah said.
Saydah borrowed a horse trailer from a neighbor and headed to a site near the Rose Bowl only to learn it was full. After finding space for horses Zippy and Sonny at the equestrian center in Burbank, she went back with donkeys Midge and Thelma.
On Saturday, Saydah said she was thankful to the staff and volunteers and said her animals likely will miss their generous supply of treats.
"There is so much help and so much goodwill being shared,” Saydah said.