Life Is Beautiful: A Letter to Gaza

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Life Is Beautiful: A Letter to Gaza

2024

1h 37m

Documentary

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7 Reviews

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Fewer than 50 Ratings

Stuck in the arctic of Norway and refusing to accept the boundaries imposed by international politics and rigid bureaucracy, filmmaker Mohamed Jabaly insists on telling heartfelt stories from his hometown Gaza. Despite having only limited connection to his family abroad and support from his friends, he manages to channel his own creativity, adhering to his motto LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL.

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Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

07/01/2025

4/5

It’s an eye-opening and very approachable cine-essay about the real experience of exile.

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Dennis Harvey

Variety

11/21/2023

The outdoor temperatures may be Arctic, but the welcoming indoor temperament as painted by a stranded stranger here is downright toasty.

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Erik Reeds

Spectrum Culture

11/21/2024

It is not only within the borders of Israel and Palestine that Palestinians can experience dehumanization, and this friction becomes the primary narrative focus for the majority of the film.

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Avi Offer

NYC Movie Guru

11/12/2024

Timely, suspenseful and profoundly moving.

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Joshua Polanski

Boston Hassle

10/27/2024

Palestinian cinema is rarely this hopeful.

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Barbara Goslawski

POV Magazine

06/26/2024

While the film is a chronicle of Jabaly’s determination to both grow as an artist and to share stories of life in the Palestinian territory, Life Is Beautiful moves from a diary film to a statement on the idea of home as an unbreakable bond.

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Mohamed Jabaly

Director

Mohamed Jabaly

Self

Mohamed Jabaly

Writer

Mohamed Jabaly

Cinematographer

Kristine Ann Skaret

Producer

Sarah Winge-Sørensen

Producer

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Life Is Beautiful: A Letter to Gaza: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Stuck in the arctic of Norway and refusing to accept the boundaries imposed by international politics and rigid bureaucracy, filmmaker Mohamed Jabaly insists on telling heartfelt stories from his hometown Gaza. Despite having only limited connection to his family abroad and support from his friends, he manages to channel his own creativity, adhering to his motto LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL.

Director: Mohamed Jabaly
Producer: Kristine Ann Skaret, Sarah Winge-Sørensen
Screenwriter: Mohamed Jabaly
Distributor: Watermelon Pictures
Production Co: Stray Dogs Norway
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: Arabic
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 15, 2024, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 26, 2024
Runtime: 1h 37m