Gazan twins in Cannes warn 'nothing left' of homeland
FRANCE: Twin Gazan filmmakers Arab and Tarzan Nasser said they never thought the title of their new film "Once Upon A Time in Gaza" would have such heartbreaking resonance.
"Right now, there is nothing left of Gaza," Tarzan said when it premiered on Monday at the Cannes Film Festival.
Since militants from the Palestinian group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, Israel's retaliatory offensive in Gaza has devastated large swathes of Palestinian territory, killing tens of thousands of people.
Israel has vowed to "take control of all" the besieged territory of more than two million inhabitants, where United Nations agencies have warned of famine following Israel's implementation of a two-month total blockade.
Aid began to trickle into the Gaza Strip on Monday, following widespread condemnation of the siege.
The Nasser brothers, who left Gaza in 2012, said their new film, set in 2007 when Hamas Islamists seized control of the strip, explains the lead-up to the current catastrophic war.
Once Upon A Time in Gaza, which screened in the festival's Un Certain Regard section, follows friends Yahia and Osama as they try to make a little extra cash by selling drugs hidden in falafel sandwiches.
Using a manual meat grinder that does not rely on rare electricity, student Yahia blends fava beans and fresh herbs to make the patty-shaped fritters in the back of Osama's small, run-down eatery, while dreaming of being able to leave the Israeli-blockaded coastal strip.
Meanwhile, charismatic hustler Osama visits pharmacy after pharmacy to amass as many pills as he can with stolen prescriptions, pursued by a corrupt cop.
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