Born In Gaza [Nacido en Gaza]

Born in Gaza [Nacido en Gaza] is a paradigm-shattering 2014 documentary film that presents an unfiltered window into the harsh realities of life in the Gaza Strip. Through the innocent eyes of children such as Walaa Eltiti and Yazeed Faruja and the lens of the talented director Hernán Zin, the film journeys deep into the heart of Gaza, bypassing the filters of news reports which often fail to paint a complete picture of the crushing circumstances that these resilient children and their families navigate daily.

The documentary gets its name from the geographical location where the film's narrative unfolds — Gaza, a narrow strip of land on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, bordered by Egypt and Israel. Gaza is home to nearly two million Palestinians living under extremely arduous conditions, an aftermath of years of conflict that has ravaged their land physically and emotionally.

Nacido en Gaza chronicles the period before, during and after the Israeli military offensive, Operation Protective Edge, which took place in the summer of 2014. The film follows ten children who reside in Gaza during these events, observing their lives through the candid tomfoolery of their adolescence, and the stark contrast of their horrifying experiences during this military intervention.

The leading protagonists, Walaa Eltiti and Yazeed Faruja, are children just like any other, with unquenchable spirits, dreams, loves, and fears. However, their existence in one of the most contested land parcels globally adds a heart-wrenching layer of vulnerability and resilience to their narratives. Through their stories, the film somehow manages to masterfully remove the politics from the equation and bring to the forefront the human aspect of living in Gaza, especially the severity of it all seen through the eyes of a child.

Walaa Eltiti, Yazeed Faruja and their contemporaries narrate their emotive tales, sharing their fears and hopes in equal measure. During the course of the film, we see them do typical things that children do: they go to school, play soccer on the beach, dance at weddings, and even dream of becoming doctors, teachers, or footballers one day. Yet, they also endure trauma, undertake cleaning jobs to support their families, and live under the constant threat of bombings, warfare, and death.

The director Hernán Zin, known for his gripping war reportage, brings his renowned journalistic visual storytelling to the cinematic platform. He treats this sensitive subject matter without exploiting the circumstances, presenting a raw and undiluted depiction of a child's life in Gaza strip. He conveys the reality without sensationalism and invites viewers to share in the ordinary and extraordinary circumstances of these children's lives.

In Born in Gaza, Zin steps back and lets the children narrate their own tales. This fresh and poignant perspective allows an unmatched authenticity to seep into the narrative. Audiences get to observe the dressing of a wound, the aftermath of an explosion, a family packing up to move again all through the eyes of the young characters. This masterful storytelling approach lends an unparalleled depth to the narrative making the film more than just a documentary - it's an engaging piece of heart-rending reality.

Throughout the 78 minutes run-time of the film, it conceivably acknowledges and explores the psychological impact of violence and trauma on children, providing a human face to the statistics reported on news channels. The filmmaker brilliantly utilizes the medium of documentary to invoke global empathy for a humanitarian crisis often reduced to political negotiations and policy standoffs.

While Born in Gaza unveils everyday life in one of the most politically tumultuous regions globally, it conveys an underlying message of universal human experience. The film endeavours to remind viewers that beneath the dehumanizing facades of war, conflict, and statistical data, there lie stories of real people with longings, vulnerabilities, and incredible grit. Their lives, though interwoven around war and suffering, are not to be defined solely by those hardships but by their resilience, courage, dreams, and hope for change.

In essence, Nacido en Gaza is not just a film, but an experience that compels one to introspect and invites the world to go beyond headlines, to understand that beneath the rubble lies dreams of a normal life and a desire for peace - a powerful testament to the human spirit even in the face of seemingly insurmountable adversity.