ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
a film by Tarzan e Arab Nasser
France – Palestine – Germany
2025, 90′
NATIONAL PREMIERE
v.o. Italian subtitles
This year, Gender Bender once again turns its focus to Gaza and the Palestinian cause through the voice and vision of the Nasser brothers, directors of Once Upon a Time in Gaza, winner of the Best Director award in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. Set in Gaza in 2007, a city gripped by siege and political tension, Yahia, a brilliant but restless young student, forms an unlikely friendship with Osama, a charismatic drug dealer with a generous heart.
The two start dealing drugs under the cover of a falafel restaurant, finding an unexpected sense of freedom in crime. But soon they attract the attention of a corrupt policeman—a man of immense power and an even bigger ego. Blending the most distinctive elements of film noir and revenge westerns, and mixing raw irony with a streak of tragedy, Once Upon a Time in Gaza explores the oppression of occupation and how those who struggle daily to live and survive navigate the shifting lines between “right” and “wrong”.
Dates for this event:
Tickets
Full price: €7.50
Reduced price for Under 30s, Over 65s, Culture Card holders, Amici Di Cineteca: €5
Reduced price for Unibo, Ababo, Under19: €3
Reduced for Alliance Française members: €8
3-show pass: €12
5-show pass: €20
Tickets can be purchased:
1) Online: on TicketSms.it
2) In person: from October 30th to November 8th at the Festival Center (DAS – Dispositivo Arti Sperimentali, via del Porto 11/2).
Passes can be purchased:
1) In person: from October 30th to November 8th at the Festival Center
2) By pre-ordering them by email at biglietteria@genderbender.it and then picking them up in person at the Festival Center.
The TICKET OFFICE at the Festival Center is every day from October 30th to November 8th from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.; on October 30th from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.; on November 2nd from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.
*It is NOT possible to purchase tickets in person at the event venues.
For further information: biglietteria@genderbender.it
Accessibility
Twin brothers Tarzan and Arab Nasser were born in Gaza in 1988 and started their filmmaking careers with their Cannes-selected short Condom Lead before making their first feature film, Dégradé, which premiered in the 68th Cannes’ Critics’ Week.
Their second feature, Gaza mon amour, premiered in the Orrizonti Section of the 77th Venice International Film Festival and was Palestine’s submission to the 93rd Academy Awards.
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With the support of Palazzo Bentivoglio