English subtitles in the video by Leeds Palestinian Film Festival
The founder and president of the Gaza International Women's Cinema Festival, Dr. Ezzeddin Shalah, announced the beginning of preparations for the launch of the festival's first edition in partnership with the Palestinian Ministry of Culture, represented by His Excellency Minister Imad Hamdan, and in cooperation with the Fikra Association for Educational Arts and a number of Arab and foreign founders. The festival will launch in Gaza City from October 26-31, 2025, coinciding with Palestinian National Women's Day.
Minister Hamdan expressed the importance of establishing a festival dedicated to Palestinian women, especially since women are living in both parts of the homeland under painful, abnormal conditions, not to mention Gaza's conditions of genocide. There are women who have lost their children, and those who have lost the head of the family who was the breadwinner for their children, and each of them now has a story to tell - stories that speak deeply about the human and historical injustice against Palestinian women.
Minister Hamdan added that the Gaza International Festival comes to contribute to cultural and artistic exchange, and to address women's issues in general and Palestinian women in particular. The festival will contribute to empowering women cinematically to face life, and to raise their issues through films that reflect their reality, raise awareness in society about women's issues, and document Palestinian narrative cases, to serve as a witness in international forums to the crimes of the occupation.
For his part, Dr. Ezzeddin Shalah, founder and president of the festival, mentioned that we are working on preparing for the festival's first edition in a clear challenge to hunger and death, to prove that our will is stronger than all the genocide practiced against our people and that we are here to stay, creating life despite hunger and death. We have chosen to hold the first edition under the slogan "Glorious Women in the Time of Genocide," competing for the "Golden Orange Awards." The adoption of October 26 as the annual launch date of the festival is in appreciation of the role of Palestinian women, who held the first Palestinian women's conference in Jerusalem in 1929 with the attendance of more than 300 women, and in the same year 9 women martyrs were elevated. This date witnessed the beginning of Palestinian women's actual organized participation in political work.
Shalah added that the festival management will announce later the reception of participating films that address women's issues from countries around the world, regardless of the nationality of the producer, female director, or male director, to learn about women's issues internationally and for the importance of cultural exchange.
Shalah praised His Excellency Minister of Culture Imad Hamdan for his efforts in supporting the festival and standing by Palestinian women and supporting them culturally, emphasizing that the Ministry of Culture has spared no effort in supporting the cultural movement in Palestine. He also thanked the Arab and foreign founding members who contributed to establishing the Gaza International Women's Cinema Festival, calling for joining the founding membership to support Palestinian women.
To contact the festival:
The Gaza International Festival for Women’s Cinema will be presented at the Palestine Pavilion during the Cannes Film Festival. The first edition of the festival is scheduled for October 2025.
The presentation takes place in a context deeply marked by the loss of Fatma Hassona, a 25-year-old Palestinian photojournalist and protagonist of the film Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk, who was killed in a bombing shortly after the announcement of the film’s selection for Cannes.
Opening the Festival, Juliette Binoche, actress and president of the jury, broke the silence on Gaza, responding to the appeal of numerous artists and cultural workers.
The Gaza International Festival for Women’s Cinema was born as a space of cultural and creative resistance, in response to the war and destruction endured by the population of Gaza. The festival is promoted by a growing network of associations, film schools, and international festivals.
Among its first initiatives is a training workshop aimed at young women in Gaza, with the goal of producing five original short films, with full production support and international mentorship.
The project aims to strengthen the female gaze within the Palestinian audiovisual landscape, offering women filmmakers concrete opportunities for expression, autonomy, liberation, and storytelling.
The festival positions itself as a platform for exchange, solidarity, and vision, open to collaboration with filmmakers, cultural institutions, and international networks committed to promoting women’s rights and independent creativity.
The presentation at the Palestine Pavilion will feature Mohanad Yaqubi (filmmaker, producer, and curator of the Palestine Film Institute) and Graziella Bildesheim (cultural consultant and president of EWA – European Women’s Audiovisual Network), both actively engaged in promoting the project and strengthening its international connections.
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Discover the full program of the Palestine Pavilion: Palestine Film Institute
Dr. Ezzeddin Shalah announced the establishment of the Gaza International Women's Cinema Festival, and issued a general Palestinian, Arab, and international call to join the festival's founding committee. The festival will hold its first edition in Gaza City from October 26-31, 2025, coinciding with National Women's Day, as it was on this day that the first Palestinian women's conference was held in Jerusalem in 1929, and in the same year 9 women martyrs were elevated.
Shalah mentioned that the idea and importance of establishing the Gaza International Women's Cinema Festival stems from the Palestinian woman's history of struggle, and from what women suffer as a result of the genocide war. There are those who have lost their children, and those who have lost their husbands and breadwinners, and every woman now has a story. Therefore, we want, through the Gaza International Women's Cinema Festival, to shed light on international and Arab women's issues, especially Palestinian women's issues, from the stories and experiences of Palestinian women, and to present the reality of Palestinian women and their aspirations through films that highlight their ability to create and influence despite the difficult circumstances they are going through.
Shalah added that the goal of establishing the Gaza International Women's Cinema Festival is:
The Gaza International Women's Cinema Festival aspires to be a window through which Palestine looks out to the world, and the world looks at Palestine. The Gaza International Women's Cinema Festival will also work to establish the concept of cinema as a powerful means of social and cultural influence, where discussion sessions and workshops will be organized about the role of cinema in changing stereotypes and promoting women's rights in society, and for the festival to become a prominent annual event on the global cultural agenda.