Waiting for Gaza
by Guillaume KOZAKIEWIEZ
2020 - 74 min - HD
Coproduction Ana Films et 48° Rugissants
Aide développement Région Bretagne et Procirep-Angoa.
Aide à la production Bretagne, de la Région Grand Est, de Strasbourg Eurométropole, du CNC, de la Procirep-Angoa et Conseil Départemental des Côtes d’Armor.
Achat Ciné+ et 2m Maroc.
Director: Guillaume Kozakiewiez
Cinematography: Guillaume Kozakiewiez
Additional cinematography: Leo Lefèvre
Sound: Guillaume Kozakiewiez, Maude Gallon
Original music: Olivier Fuchs
Video editing: Nico Peltier, Kamel Maad
Sound editing and mixing: Kinane Moualla
Color grading: Aïdan Obrist
Producers: Adeline Le Dantec, Milana Christitch
SYNOPSIS
Arab and Tarzan Abu Nasser, twin brothers from the Gaza Strip, are 30 years old and so deeply immersed in cinema that they themselves seem like characters straight out of a fictional story... Today, two years after their selection at Cannes, they are preparing their second feature film in Paris, where they have been granted political refugee status.
In their 25-square-meter room, which they rarely leave, they cling to what remains of Gaza: a multitude of images, photos, posters, and clips from their previous films that they project onto the walls. In the heart of this studio, with its curtains drawn even during the day, *Apollo*, their second feature film, is taking shape. Driven by an overwhelming need to tell the story—in all its forms—of their lost homeland, the two brothers draw from their imagination a mental Palestine, reinvented through their screenplay, their dialogue, and their relentless quest for a true and faithful portrayal. Gaza: the sole setting for their films, where everything begins and everything returns.
Yet it is a place to which they will never return. How, then, can they keep a foothold in that reality? Through fiction, the two brothers reply, even as the news they receive from Gaza leaves little room for hope.
AWARDS AND SELECTIONS
Traces de Vie Festival in Clermont-Ferrand – November 2021
Douarnenez Film Festival – August 2021
Ciné-Palestine Festival in Paris – June 2021
Travelling Festival in Rennes – February 2021
Ahmed Attia Award for Intercultural Dialogue at MEDIMED in Sitges – 2020
THE DIRECTOR
Born in 1979, Guillaume Kozakiewiez grew up in eastern France. His studies took him to Brittany, where he has lived ever since.
Passionate about photography, he taught himself editing and then cinematography, eventually training in documentary filmmaking. A filmmaker, traveler, curious soul, and somewhat of a loner, Guillaume relies on his portable video camera as his go-to tool for telling stories of life across different continents. Portraiture is his favorite subject, giving rise to feature-length documentaries, such as the one about his Polish great-great-aunt Léonarda.
The creative process is a common thread in several of his films, featuring a tightrope walker, a radio host on France Culture, musicians from Boston… Today, fiction has found its place in his work, though the portrait remains firmly rooted in storytelling.
His first short film, Je les aime tous, was shortlisted for the 2018 César Awards after being selected for festivals in Clermont-Ferrand, Thessaloniki, Lille, and Villeurbanne…
Guillaume also works as a director of photography for documentary and fiction filmmakers.
In the winter of 2021, he completed the documentary Waiting for Gaza about twin brothers from Gaza—who are also filmmakers—and is currently working on the screenplays for two feature films, Louise and Wave.
