Palestinian documentary Citizen Osama makes world premiere at Venice Film Festival

The IMS-supported documentary Citizen Osama made its world premiere on 5 September, at the Venice Film Festival.

The film follows Osama, a Gaza-based photojournalist, over the course of a year as he documents the war and its impact on the Palestinians. As the conflict intensifies and fellow journalists are killed, Osama continues to report from the ground while navigating the dangers of daily life and trying to protect his wife and newborn child. Through his work and personal experience, the film offers an intimate account of a journalist documenting a war from within.

Says director Ahmed Hassouna: “Our aim was to document the critical situation of journalists in Gaza by producing a contemporary testimony on press freedom. But also to show their everyday lives, as they, like all other residents of Gaza, faced what they were filming and had to protect their families while finding ways to survive.”

The film’s premiere comes at a critical moment. Three years into the genocide, the cost for journalists in Gaza has been devastating. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), 209 journalists have been killed, 174 injured and 108 arrested by Israeli forces. It is deadliest conflict for journalists that CPJ has ever documented.

Jesper Højberg, Executive Director of IMS, underscores the film’s significance: “This documentary is a testament to their courage. We are proud to have supported the production of this documentary, and we hope it reaches wide audiences at Venice and beyond so the world cannot continue to look away from what journalists have sacrificed to bear witness.”