TIFF Review: With Hasan in Gaza Faces Israeli Aggression with Poise and Remembrance

      The new documentary *With Hasan in Gaza* presents a touching, contemplative portrayal of a city currently struggling for survival, functioning as both a travelogue and a time capsule. In 2001, filmmaker Kamal Aljafari traveled to Palestine, hoping to reconnect with Adder Rahim, a friend he met during his seven-month stay in the juvenile section of Israel’s Naqab Desert prison at the age of 17. During his journey, Aljafari met Hasan, a guide who offered to drive him along the coastal strip of the country, during which the director captured various scenes: children at play, rows of cars and buildings, and lively city streets.

      The collected imagery serves as both a collection and a documentation, resonating with the best travelogue films through its commendable restraint and immersive qualities (one might think of Chantal Akerman’s *From the East*) while holding the weight of historical evidence. The film presents some of the most crucial images seen recently from a time when our present reality was still somewhat unimaginable. Aljafari’s work also acts as a poetic reflection on memory, unexpectedly brought to life when he discovered three MiniDV tapes in his archives—footage he thought was lost or faded from his memory. He previously explored his imprisonment in his 2006 film *The Roof*. In *With Hasan in Gaza*, he recontextualizes this footage as a form of found art.

      One of Aljafari’s most powerful decisions is to show the footage without any supplementary commentary. There is no reference to the current circumstances in Gaza or the thousands who have died at the hands of the Israeli military in the past two years; yet, those lives are palpably present just outside the frame. Instead, through on-screen text, the director shares reflections from his time in prison—the taste of bread and sugar, watching the Berlin Wall fall on television, and a Red Cross worker who offered him a cigarette and a book by Franz Fanon. These memories overlay familiar scenes of everyday life: men playing cards and watching basketball, bakers crafting flatbread, and busy street vendors. Whether capturing mortar fire or engaging in conversations with locals—some eager to share their stories, others uncertain—Aljafari’s film addresses the Israeli aggression of a bygone era.

      Describing *With Hasan in Gaza* as a personal work feels like an understatement, but its message is both clear and universal. At the time of writing, the film is scheduled to be showcased at 35 international festivals in the upcoming months; one can only hope it is not rendered a eulogy. Aljafari subtly hints at the political present through Simon Fisher Turner’s score, which melds nostalgic Persian pop with atonal sounds that occasionally veer towards the unsettling. The composer is renowned for his work on Derek Jarman’s *Caravaggio* and *Blue*, and I couldn't help but notice resonances with Mica Levi’s sharp composition in *The Zone of Interest*—much like Glazer's film, this one communicates necessary truths through silence.

      *With Hasan in Gaza* screened at TIFF 2025.