Seen Palestine Film Festival - Chicago

Join us for the Seen Palestine Film Festival in Chicago, showcasing the stories of Palestine! All profits go to Palestine (Palestinian storytellers in Palestine).

Ahmad never aspired to be a war correspondent, but after October 7th, with foreign journalists banned from Gaza, he needed to show the world what was happening.

With only his phone, Ahmad captured Israel’s vicious war on Gaza. He films only seconds after missiles strike his family home, he films bodies retrieved from rubble, injured children rushed to hospital. He becomes homeless overnight and relocates again and again, trying to find a safe place, moving south as the Occupation has instructed. He burns books to bake bread and struggles to find clean water. He sleeps on the streets, in a make-shift tent, in a car. Nowhere is safe.

This is his new terrifying reality but he keeps filming; he keeps trying to stay alive, starting each video, “Hi, it’s Ahmad, I’m alive”.

Ahmad tells his story of destruction, fear and famine, but also of resilience, hope and friendship, weaving between vertical video from inside Gaza, and interviews (after his escape from Gaza) as he reflects on his 126 days of covering a genocide.

Today, Ahmad is based in Johannesburg, where he leads Seen Palestine, empowering storytellers in Gaza and the West Bank, to publish viral videos about life under Occupation. The publication is entirely crowdfunded.

All these films contribute to seen.tv’s content offering, building the World’s largest Human Experience Library. The organisation’s goal is to empower millions globally to share their stories, creating a more empathetic world.

To donate and support Palestinian storytellers, https://www.launchgood.com/v4/campaign/help_storytellers_from_palestine_be_seen

Host or Publisher Seen Palestine