Cinema returns to Gaza after long absence
As film theaters have been closed in Gaza since the 1987 intifada, movie directors are launching personal initiatives to try and revive the film industry and cinema in the Gaza Strip.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The lights were dim and the audience whispered. The viewers watched the screen to see what would happen to the hero of the film “Oversized Coat,” which screened Dec. 26 at the Red Crescent Society hall. Gazans watched the film in an uplifted mood, one the city had been not seen for decades.
Before the outbreak of Al-Aqsa intifada in 1987, around six film theaters could be found in the Gaza Strip. However, screenings in these theaters stopped after Gazans’ priorities shifted toward resistance, and after some opposed the content of the films shown and deemed them immoral.
