Gaza Ghetto: Portrait of a Palestinian Family
The first documentary filmed in Gaza (1985), portraying a refugee family’s life under Israeli occupation and tracing the conflict’s deep-rooted causes​:contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}.
Gaza Ghetto is a groundbreaking 1985 documentary that immerses viewers in the daily life of the Abu el-Adel family in Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp under Israeli military rule. As the first film made in Gaza, it blends intimate family moments (a child’s birth, a grandmother’s death) with interviews of the architects of the Israeli occupation, candidly revealing how historical injustices fuel the ongoing conflict:contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}. The camera intercuts scenes of the family’s struggles with footage of Israeli officials (including Ariel Sharon) discussing their policies, linking personal suffering to political decisions:contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}. By spending 82 minutes with this family, the film powerfully illuminates the human toll of the occupation and helps viewers grasp how the roots of the Palestine–Israel conflict shape Gaza’s harsh realities:contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}. Hailed for its insightful perspective – one reviewer called it “the best historical view of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip that’s ever been put on film,” with “an almost uncanny relevance to current events”:contentReference[oaicite:4]{index=4} – the film remains a seminal historical document of Gaza’s plight.