Struggle of Gaza surfers to be screened during local film festival

Monday 30 September 2024

A documentary film following the lives of several surfers from Gaza will be shown as part of a local surf and film festival taking place this weekend.

The seventh edition of the Jersey Surf Film Festival will take place from 4 to 6 October at Cineworld and St Ouen's Bay.

There will be visiting filmmakers and surfers from Australia and Cornwall, as well as events and screenings across all three days.

Among the films due to be shown is Gaza Surf Club, a 2016 documentary directed by Philip Gnadt and Mickey Yamine. 

The film takes a "day in the life" approach, and follows the story of a group of Gazans who practice surfing as a source of freedom in the Mediterranean Gaza Strip coast.

The documentary took five years of filming, and was screened for the first time at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival.

Pictured: The seventh edition of the Jersey Surf Film Festival will take place from 4 to 6 October.

The Jersey Surf Film Festival will also feature screenings of a film about a group of female surf and skateboard pioneers from Ghana, as well as an award-winning feature documentary called Point of Change directed by local filmmaker Rebecca Coley.

Discussions, surfing, beach cleaning, brunch and a number of short films are also part of the line-up.

Organisers wrote: "Jersey has the oldest surf club in Europe and a strong surf culture and heritage and the festival celebrates this and screens films from the island and around the world."

The timings and schedule can be found via the Jersey Surf Film Festival website, where tickets can also be purchased.