The Belle from Gaza

Last updated

The Belle from Gaza
La Belle de Gaza 2024 film poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
French La Belle de Gaza
Directed by Yolande Zauberman
Written byYolande Zauberman
Produced by
  • Bruno Nahon
  • Yolande Zauberman
Starring
CinematographyYolande Zauberman
Edited by
  • Rafael Torres Calderón
  • Yolande Zauberman
  • Léo Richard
Production
companies
Distributed byPyramide Distribution
Release dates
  • 17 May 2024 (2024-05-17)(Cannes)
  • 29 May 2024 (2024-05-29)(France)
Running time
76 minutes
CountryFrance
Languages
  • English
  • Arabic
  • French
  • Hebrew

The Belle from Gaza (French : La Belle de Gaza) is a 2024 French documentary film written, shot, co-edited, co-produced and directed by Yolande Zauberman. The film follows Zauberman's pursuit of a trans woman who traveled on foot to Tel Aviv from Gaza. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

It had its world premiere in the Special Screenings section at the 77th Cannes Film Festival on 17 May 2024, where it competed for the L'Œil d'or and Queer Palm. It was theatrically released on 29 May 2024 by Pyramide Distribution.

Premise

The Belle from Gaza is a documentary film about transgender women in Israel. In it, Yolande Zauberman investigates the legend of a young girl who, threatened with death because of her trans identity, reportedly fled the Gaza Strip to travel on foot to Tel Aviv.

Filmed on Hatnufa Street in Tel Aviv, the documentary interweaves the often tragic lives of several transgender women, some of whom are prostitutes. Israela, who comes from an Orthodox Jewish background, tells the story of her marriage to a rabbi, to whom she confessed being trans when she wanted a divorce. Danielle, who came from the Palestinian territories, was kidnapped by men from her hometown. She survived but her mother told her, "I regret that they didn't kill you". Conversely, the Israeli Talleen Abu Hanna, winner of Miss Trans Israel in 2016, feels accepted and expresses her gratitude to her country. [4]

Release

The film was selected to be screened in the Special Screenings section at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, where it had its world premiere on 17 May 2024. [5]

The film was released in France on 29 May 2024 by Pyramide Distribution, [6] with the company's sales arm Pyramide International handling world sales for the film. [1]

Accolades

AwardDate of ceremonyCategoryRecipient(s)ResultRef.
Cannes Film Festival 24 May 2024 L'Œil d'or Yolande Zauberman Nominated [7]
25 May 2024 Queer Palm Nominated [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cannes Film Festival</span> French annual international film festival

The Cannes Film Festival, until 2003 called the International Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around the world. Founded in 1946, the invitation-only festival is held annually at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès. The festival was formally accredited by the FIAPF in 1951.

Yolande Zauberman is a French film director and screenwriter.

Keren Yedaya is an Israeli filmmaker. She was born in the United States, but her family moved to Israel in 1975 when she was just three. She trained at the Camera Obscura School of Art in Tel Aviv.

<i>Would You Have Sex with an Arab?</i> 2011 film

Would You Have Sex with an Arab? is a feature-length documentary film by French director Yolande Zauberman. It premiered at the 2011 Venice Film Festival, and released in France on 12 September 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shira Geffen</span>

Shira Geffen is an Israeli actress, screenwriter, film director and children's book writer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 Cannes Film Festival</span> Film festival

The 68th Cannes Film Festival was held from 13 to 24 May 2015. Ethan Coen and Joel Coen were the Co-Presidents of the Jury for the main competition. It was the first time that two people chaired the jury. Since the Coen brothers each received a separate vote, they were joined by seven other jurors to form the customary nine-juror panel. French actor Lambert Wilson was the host for the opening and closing ceremonies. The Official Selection of films for the 2015 festival, including the line-up for the Main Competition, was announced on 16 April 2015.

L'Œil d'or, le prix du documentaire — Cannes is a documentary film award created in 2015. It is awarded to the best documentary presented in one of the sections of the Cannes Film Festival. Initiated by the Civil Society of Multimedia Authors and its President Julie Bertuccelli, the prize is awarded in partnership with the Institut national de l'audiovisuel and with the support of Cannes Film Festival and its General Delegate Thierry Frémaux. Since 2017, the Audiens Cultural Personal Joint Group has also been a partner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Cannes Film Festival</span>

The 69th Cannes Film Festival was held from 11 to 22 May 2016. Australian director George Miller was the president of the jury for the main competition. French actor Laurent Lafitte was the host for the opening and closing ceremonies. On 15 March it was announced that Japanese director Naomi Kawase would serve as the Cinéfondation and Short Film Jury president. American director Woody Allen's film Café Society opened the festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Cannes Film Festival</span> 2017 film festival in Provence-Alpes-Côte dAzur, France

The 70th Cannes Film Festival took place from 17 to 28 May 2017, in Cannes, France. Spanish film director and screenwriter Pedro Almodóvar was the president of the jury for the festival and Italian actress Monica Bellucci hosted the opening and closing ceremonies. Ismael's Ghosts, directed by French director Arnaud Desplechin, was the opening film for the festival.

Miss Trans Israel is a beauty pageant for transgender people. It was first held in 2016 in Tel Aviv, when it was won by Talleen Abu Hanna. She represented the nation of Israel in the Miss Trans Star International beauty pageant, that was held in the city of Barcelona in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Cannes Film Festival</span> Film festival

The 72nd annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 14 to 25 May 2019. Mexican filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu served as jury president. The Palme d'Or went to the South Korean film Parasite, directed by Bong Joon-ho; Bong became the first Korean director to win the award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Cannes Film Festival</span> Film festival

The 74th annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 6 to 17 July 2021, after having been originally scheduled from 11 to 22 May 2021. American director Spike Lee was invited to be the head of the jury for the festival for a second time, after the COVID-19 pandemic in France scuttled plans to have him head the jury of the 2020 Cannes Film Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Cannes Film Festival</span> 2023 film festival

The 76th annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 16 to 27 May 2023. Swedish filmmaker Ruben Östlund served as jury president. With the French film Anatomy of a Fall winning the Palme d'Or, the festival's top prize, Justine Triet became the third female director to achieve the prize, after Jane Campion in 1993, and Julia Ducournau in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 Cannes Film Festival</span> 2024 film festival

The 77th annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 14 to 25 May 2024. American filmmaker and actress Greta Gerwig served as jury president for the main competition. French actress Camille Cottin hosted the opening and closing ceremonies. American filmmaker Sean Baker won the Palme d'Or, the festival's top prize, for the comedy-drama film Anora.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Talleen Abu Hanna</span> Israeli-Arab beauty pageant winner

Talleen Abu Hanna is an Israeli-Arab beauty pageant winner, model, actress, and television personality. In 2016, she was crowned the first-ever Miss Trans Israel and placed first runner-up at Miss Star International. She was a contestant on the Israeli reality television series Big Brother and the reality series Goalstar. In 2018, she competed in Miss Israel.

Wild Diamond is a 2024 French coming-of-age drama film written and directed by Agathe Riedinger, in her feature directorial debut. The film stars Malou Khebizi, Idir Azougli, Andréa Bescond and Ashley Romano, and was adapted from Riedinger's 2017 short film J'attends Jupiter.

The Balconettes is a 2024 French comedy horror film directed by, co-written by, and starring Noémie Merlant. The film, which co-stars Souheila Yacoub and Sanda Codreanu, follows three young women during a heatwave in the south of France.

<i>Filmlovers!</i> 2024 film by Arnaud Desplechin

Filmlovers! is a 2024 docufiction drama film written and directed by Arnaud Desplechin. It stars Milo Machado-Graner, Mathieu Amalric and Françoise Lebrun. It features the character of Paul Dédalus, who appeared in Desplechin's earlier films My Sex Life... or How I Got into an Argument (1996) and My Golden Days (2015). Acoording to Desplechin the film is meant to "celebrate movie theaters and their manifold magic".

An Unfinished Film is a 2024 docufiction film directed by Lou Ye, and written by Lou and Yingli Ma.

References

  1. 1 2 Galuppo, Mia (16 May 2024). "How a French Filmmaker Traced the Journey of Trans Women From Gaza in Cannes Doc". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  2. Khaldi, Tarik (17 May 2024). "Interview with Yolande Zauberman, searching for the legendary belle from Gaza". Festival de Cannes. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  3. Oltermann, Philip (16 May 2024). "'To escape Gaza is already an achievement. And then to be trans?': the women defying national and gender boundaries". The Guardian . Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  4. Colombani, Florence (18 May 2024). "Cannes 2024 : La Belle de Gaza, un documentaire délicat sur des femmes trans d'origine palestinienne". Le Point (in French). Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  5. "The Screenings Guide of the 77th Festival de Cannes". Festival de Cannes. 8 May 2024. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
  6. Minisini, Lucas (17 May 2024). "En Israël, Talleen Abu Hanna, la jeune espoir des femmes transgenres" . M le magazine du Monde (in French). Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  7. "2024 Competition". L'Œil d'or (in French). Scam : Société civile des auteurs multimédia. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  8. Dams, Tim (9 May 2024). "Queer Palm reveals eligible titles from 2024 Cannes lineup". Screen International . Retrieved 9 May 2024.