Official Lineup
At Studio Cinemaفينيق غزة
The Phoenix of Gaza
2025
|Documentary
|52'
by Yousef Al Helou
[Palestine, UK]
Synopsis
When Yousef returned home to Gaza in July 2023, little did he realise that the footage taken during his trip would become an archive of a vibrant city now changed forever.
This award-winning documentary offers an intimate and rare glimpse of Gaza before its destruction. Through unseen footage of the city’s beauty and the resilience of its residents, London-based Palestinian filmmaker and journalist Yousef Alhelou presents a unique and deeply personal film, shot just weeks before the genocide began in October 2023.
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Biography
Yousef Al Helou is an independent journalist, political analyst, filmmaker, and content creator based in London, England. He obtained a master’s degree in international relations from Brunel University of London and is currently a PhD candidate. He has 1 million followers on Instagram. 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 65,000 killed between October 7th 2023 and September 2025.