In Gaza in 2007, Yahya, a student working at Osama’s falafel shop, reluctantly agrees to sell drugs with his boss. Enter Abou Sami, a crooked cop who enlists them in numerous schemes that end in tragedy. Two years later, Yahya is cast in Gaza’s first action movie, a propaganda film produced by Gaza’s Ministry of Culture. Inspired by both Western and Middle Eastern Cinema, Arab and Tarzan Nasser’s feature is a thrilling, pointed, tragic, and satirical look at life under occupation.

Curated & presented in partnership with Mizna, SWANA Stories at MSPIFF presents bold and striking new films from North Africa, Southwest Asia, and the diaspora.