Gaza Sound Man
Directed by: Hosam Abu Dan
Genre: Documentary / Human Rights
Country: Palestine / Qatar
Duration: 44 minutes
Sound in Gaza is more than an echo—it is memory, resilience, and testimony. Since October 7, 2023, during the genocide in Gaza, sound engineer Mohamed has captured the transformation of everyday life through four intimate stories. Once filled with the calls of street vendors and the laughter of children, Gaza’s soundscape has been replaced by the thunder of airstrikes and the silence of destruction.
Gaza Sound Man reveals how sound carries both pain and hope, giving voice to those living through war. Through Mohamed’s work, the film becomes an auditory chronicle of loss, resistance, and the enduring struggle to preserve humanity in the face of devastation.
The Path
Directed by: Aibek Baiymbetov
Genre: Documentary / Cultural Heritage
Country: Kyrgyzstan
Duration: 40 minutes
Kulmat, a master storyteller of the Kyrgyz Manas epic, lives in the Talas region of northwestern Kyrgyzstan. At the age of 20, after a series of visionary dreams where he encountered ancestral spirits and epic heroes, he received the sacred gift of storytelling. Since then, his life has been devoted to performing the Manas epic, believing deeply in its social and spiritual power.
In a world where traditional arts are increasingly challenged by modern perceptions, Kulmat strives to preserve this ancient practice. By founding a school for young storytellers, he passes on the oral tradition to a new generation. The Path is both an intimate portrait of a cultural guardian and a meditation on the enduring importance of heritage in a rapidly changing world.
Minara
Directed by: Bradley Hogan
Genre: Documentary / Environmental
Country: Australia
Duration: 8 minutes
Every year, devastating floods displace millions across the coastal regions of Bangladesh, forcing many to seek refuge in the capital, Dhaka. Minara tells the decades-spanning story of one such climate refugee, tracing her struggles and survival in Bhola Bosti, once the largest slum in the country.
Through her journey, the film sheds light on the human cost of climate change, exposing the intersection of displacement, poverty, and resilience in the face of relentless environmental catastrophe.