Popcorn and cartoons: A Gaza cinema gives girls a brief escape from war

Gaza City, Gaza Strip – Every Thursday, 14-year-old Natalie al-Hatoum looks forward to one thing. She gets ready early, says goodbye to her mother and heads to the cinema.

But this isn’t your typical multiplex. This is Gaza, which has gone through almost three years of a genocidal Israeli war. There’s a ticket booth and popcorn, but it’s all part of the show – a “cinema experience” rather than the real thing.

Recommended Stories

• list 1 of 3Israeli strikes hit water plant, warehouse in Gaza, killing at least seven
• list 2 of 3Why Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians in West Bank are pogroms
• list 3 of 3Israel accused of using kites as pretext to justify escalating Gaza attacks

Instead of a movie screen, there’s a TV, and instead of theatre seats, there are plastic chairs.

The girls who attend the weekly film screenings organised by a charity in Deir el-Balah are all displaced like Natalie and are looking for any kind of escape from the lives they’ve been living since the war started.

“I really like the cinema because it gives us a change of atmosphere. It makes you feel like you’re not living through the war, like you’re not living through these difficult days,” she says.

Natalie is originally from Gaza City’s Remal neighbourhood, but she has been living displaced in a single rented room in central Gaza with her family since their home was bombed during the early months of the war, which began in October 2023 and has so far killed more than 73,000 Palestinians.

Natalie and her family only narrowly escaped that attack, and she also lost her grandfather, grandmother and a cousin during the war.

“These incidents affected me a lot psychologically,” she says. “I was very shocked. I always remember the memories I had with my cousin, and I get very sad.”

While Israeli attacks continue in Gaza despite an October ceasefire, Natalie is able to escape her difficult surroundings at a school she attends and by taking part in activities such as the weekly movie sessions at a centre organised by the Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations-USA (UOSSM USA).

“Whenever I come to the centre, I feel comfortable,” she says. “I feel happy.”

Natalie al-Hatoum comes to the weekly screenings to enjoy a film and spend time away from the pressures of displacement in Gaza [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera]

Another world

The weekly film is put on for girls aged 11 to 16, and the experience is designed to be a fun way to recreate the experience of going to a cinema.

The screenings last about one to two hours and are accompanied by games and other activities.

The programme has grown since its first session when 15 to 20 girls attended. Today, 35 to 40 girls can join a session with many bringing friends after hearing about it from other participants.

Fifteen-year-old Rama Abu Mohammed is one of the attendees. She says entering the centre feels like going into “another world”.

“I feel like I’m disconnecting from the pressures of the war and everything we live through outside,” she says. “It is a very safe place for us.”

Rama says the centre gives girls a place where they can talk about difficult experiences without feeling embarrassed.

“We can release what is inside us and talk about situations that happen to us. They are always there to help us and tell us how we can deal with these situations.”

The cinema sessions are particularly meaningful to her because the films are chosen around issues relevant to girls her age.

“They teach us how to control our emotions and how to take care of ourselves,” she says.

Displaced girls watch an animated film during a weekly cinema in Deir el-Balah designed to give them an escape from war [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera]

More than a film

Jehan Abu Zanouna, a psychosocial facilitator who helps run the activity, says the cinema is part of a wider effort to provide children with psychological support.

“Children in Gaza have lived through many difficult experiences during what should have been their childhood,” Abu Zanouna says.

The idea is to give them a temporary break from the conditions surrounding them.

“We try to completely separate them from the tents, the heat, insects and the harsh reality they live every day,” she says.

The activities do not end when the film does. Facilitators discuss the story and the characters with the girls and encourage them to talk about their feelings and what they understood from the film.

The programme also includes sessions on personal safety, boundaries, emotions and protection from harassment.

“There is very little privacy in tents, and parents are often overwhelmed with daily survival tasks,” Abu Zanouna says.

“That is why we work with girls on personal safety, boundaries and understanding inappropriate behaviour in ways that are simple and suitable for their age,” she adds.

The activities are designed to be practical rather than simply instructional, she says, helping girls understand how to respond to situations they may encounter in their daily lives.

Jehan Abu Zanouna, a psychosocial facilitator, helps create a safe space where displaced girls in Gaza can learn about their emotions, personal safety and boundaries [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera]

A space to recharge

For Rama, those conversations are as important as the entertainment.

“These topics are very important for people our age, especially during the war,” she says. “Every one of us may have experienced a situation whether in tents or even at home.”

“As a girl, you need to know how to deal with these things.”

The programme is part of UOSSM USA’s broader work supporting children and families in Gaza, according to Zahra Abu Mohammed, a staff member at the organisation.

She says displaced families are facing increasing pressure and need psychosocial support.

“We focus on children because they deserve a safe place to talk and play and to interact with others and with their community,” Abu Mohammed says.

The organisation chose movies because they can open a conversation about emotions without making the discussion feel like a lesson.

“We chose cinema because it is not only for enjoyment,” she says.

“We don’t just talk about the story or the character. We talk about how they feel and how the character feels.”

For displaced girls like Natalie and Rama, the importance of the programme is rooted in the reality they return to when the session ends.

The weekly movie events organised by UOSSM USA allow girls in Deir el-Balah not only the opportunity to distract themselves from their difficult living environment but also to discuss it and learn how to better deal with it [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera]

Rama says she often goes home and tells her family about her day.

“I feel like I recharge my energy and then go back to face everything all over again,” she says. “I feel like I’ve released some of what I’m carrying.”

Natalie leaves the cinema and returns to the crowded room in Deir el-Balah where her family is staying.

But she says she leaves with a different state of mind, feeling lighter and more positive. She looks forward to telling her friends and her mother about the film and what she learned during the discussions.

“I wish this activity could be every day. I wish it would never end, even when the project ends or school starts.”