Boston Palestine Film Festival 2008

The first in a series entitled Inessential (Gaza in Three Pieces), this short film records a Gazan fisherman describing the Israeli-imposed economic stranglehold that threatens his livelihood. Once among the proudest and most skilled population within Palestinian society, Gaza’s fishermen are now its poorest. Israel has drastically reduced the nautical miles in which fishermen can make their living, leaving them with nothing to fish and little to do. In this short piece, Hussam al-Habash, a member of the fishermen’s syndicate, describes life under the siege, and common harassment and shooting incidents against Palestinian fishermen.

Maryam Monalisa Gharavi visited Gaza and filmed Inessential in January 2008. She has written/directed several short films, including Psychosomatic (2005) Dreams of Wingless Flight (2003) and All About My Lover (2002). She worked on feature film projects Situation Room #2 (2005) with NY-based director Steve Staso, Security (2005) with Cannes/Sundance-winning director Rob Nilsson, and most recently on the PBS television documentary Stand Up: Muslim American Comics Come of Age (2008). She has screened her work at the Pacific Film Archive, Women of Color Film Festival, Anthology Film Archive, among others. Currently she is a doctoral candidate in Comparative Literature and Film and Visual Studies at Harvard University.