'Citizen Osama' Premieres at Venice, Seeks US Distribution — SkimNews
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- Ahmed Hassouna directed "Citizen Osama," a 69-minute documentary following war journalist Osama Al-Ashi over a single year, from his son's birth in mid-2024 to the baby's first birthday
- Osama Al-Ashi is one of roughly 36 journalists who stayed in northern Gaza even as most of the populace was evacuated south; the film was shot in "utmost secrecy" to protect those who remained
- The documentary captures both the mundane and the lethal, opening with Osama cradling his newborn and cutting to the aftermath of warning strikes that destroyed 12 houses near the Shujaiya quarter of Gaza City
- "Citizen Osama" premiered at the 2026 Venice Film Festival and is currently seeking U.S. distribution, with Hassouna co-editing alongside Denis LePaven and cinematographer Yousef Al Masharawi
- The reviewer positions the film apart from Kaouther Ben Hania's "The Voice of Hind Rajab" and Poh Si Teng's "American Doctor," arguing Hassouna's diary-like restraint achieves "re-sensitization" without overwhelming the viewer
- Hassouna argues the film matters because so few documentaries with first-hand Palestinian-authored footage of Gaza exist, with theatrical releases able to counter social media disinformation and "imperial slants of TV movies commissioned in the Global North"
Why it matters: With so few documentaries authored by Palestinians on the ground in Gaza — and the reviewer arguing theatrical releases can directly counter social media disinformation and Global North-produced narratives — "Citizen Osama" filling that gap at Venice and seeking a U.S. release gives American audiences a rare chance to see daily life in northern Gaza filtered through the eyes of the people living it, not outside storytellers.
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