Feature: Palestinians "breathe life" in red carpet film festival in Gaza

Unlike world famous film festivals, Gaza film festival dedicated the 40-meter long red carpet to ordinary visitors, rather than movie stars.

Hundreds of Gaza people walked on the red carpet that rolled from a main street in the Gaza city to the steps of the cultural center to witness the opening ceremony of the local film festival Thursday evening.

Themed "We want to breathe," this year's Red Carpet is a festival for around 70 narratives, documentaries and animations from Palestine as well as other Middle East countries and West nations. The movies will be shown at three different theaters in Gaza city as well as dozens of schools and cultural centers all over the Gaza Strip.

The four-day festival is held for the second consecutive year in Gaza. Last year, the festival was held on the debris of the homes that were destroyed during the 2014 Israeli offensive on the Hamas-ruled territory.

"Last year's message of the festival was to tell the world that Gaza people don't want to die, they love life and in spite of the mass destruction caused by the Israeli wars, they can find a space to enjoy films," said Khalil al-Muzayan, festival organizer and a local director.

"Our message this year is to tell the world that Gaza people want to breathe; they want to breathe for life, for freedom and art," said al-Muzayan, adding "the festival aims at showing the world that there is another beautiful face of Gaza."

At the opening ceremony, a 60-minute film called "The Idol" is screened. The film tells the life story of Palestinian singer Mohamed Assaf who won the Arab Idol singing competition in 2013.

Gaza has been placed under a tight Israeli blockade since Islamic Hamas movement seized the territory by force after routing forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas in 2007.

The blockade has pushed Gaza's 1.9 million populations deeper into poverty as unemployment rates hit 42.7 percent, according to official figures.

The festival is highly welcomed by local people who seek the chance to escape from the current miserable life. Suma Kabariti, a 24-year-old Gaza woman, said she came to the festival simply because she wanted to be happy.

"I came here today with my friends because this event is different to me. It helps people forget the horrible situation that people are passing through," she said.

As cinemas in Gaza were closed since the outbreak of the 1987 uprising against the Israeli occupation, a number of filmmakers are attempting to revive the film culture throughout personal initiatives to screen some Palestinian-made films.

Organizers say that holding the festival in the Gaza Strip, which lives under siege and destruction for so many years, will show the other cultural and humanitarian face of Gaza, and creates a state of communication with the world through the window of cinema.

"I believe it is the right of Gaza people to breathe, to feel free and to see an end to the current internal Palestinian division that damaged all aspects of life," said Sa'ed Sweirki, one of the festival's organizers, adding "our message is so clear that Gaza has the ability to live in peace." Endit