Gaza International Women’s Film Festival Returns
The second edition of the Gaza International Women’s Film Festival is set to take place in Gaza’s Central Governorate from October 26 to 31, 2026, timed to coincide with Palestinian Women’s Day to be observed on 26 October.
Organizers have chosen the theme “Women Creating Life from Death” for this year’s event, and have unveiled an official poster showing a blindfolded woman wrapped in strips of film, surrounded by Palestinian symbols and doves of peace.
The event has been described as a heartfelt tribute to the endurance of women. The festival brings together filmmakers and industry professionals from Palestine and abroad, positioning cinema as a means of safeguarding collective memory, identity, and justice.
Building Momentum Across Europe
Ahead of the Gaza screenings, the festival has been running an extensive promotional tour through Europe, developed in partnership with Italian filmmaker Milena Fiore. The campaign kicked off in mid-July in Rome, with stops that included a screening of Leila Abbas’ short film “Chokran Laanak Tahlma Maana” (“Thank You for Dreaming with Us”), followed by appearances at Italy’s Cinema del Reale Festival in Lecce and the Sicili Ambiente Film Festival in San Vito Lo Capo.
Later stops included an event in Viterbo highlighting cinema from the Global South, featuring Annemarie Jacir’s “Falastin 36,” a return to Rome in early August for an event tied to an international short film festival, and a closing event in Venice in September featuring Italian political scientist Luciana Castellina.
A Training Ground for Palestinian Filmmakers
Alongside the screenings, the festival is running a six-month filmmaking training initiative for women in Gaza, developed with the Palestinian Ministry of Culture. The free program covers screenwriting, directing, cinematography, editing, and production, and is being taught by instructors from Palestine and countries including Italy, the UK, France, Cuba, and Sweden.
Short films produced by program participants will premiere at the festival’s second edition before being submitted to international festivals – turning the training into both a creative outlet and a form of cultural advocacy.
The festival overall aims to serve as a platform for women’s empowerment and cross-cultural exchange, with a lineup expected to include feature films, short fiction, and documentaries addressing women’s experiences worldwide.
The above post is based on the following article: Nevine Lamei, ‘Gaza Int’l Women’s Film Festival unveils ‘Women Creating Life from Death’ slogan’, Ahram Online, 31 July 2026. This article in turn is based on an Al-Ahram Hebdo report which was published on the same day. Al-Ahram Hebdo is a French-language weekly newspaper located in Egypt.