Ramy Youssef and Hiam Abbass Lend Support to New Gaza Cinema Academy at Venice Film Festival

Actors and directors including Ramy Youssef and Hiam Abbass are lending their support to the newly launched Gaza Cinema Academy, an initiative introduced at the Venice Film Festival to bolster filmmaking within the Palestinian territory.

Co-founded by Palestinian directors Ezzaldeen Shalh and Mai Masri, the academy is designed to offer film education while assisting emerging filmmakers in developing and producing their creative projects. Additional supporters of the academy include Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania, known for films such as The Voice of Hind Rajab, alongside Palestinian director Annemarie Jacir and actor Saleh Bakri. Italian producer Graziella Bildesheim and Mad Solutions co-founder Alaa Karkouti are also participating in the initiative.

Egyptian-American comedian Youssef co-created the series Ramy, where he worked alongside Abbass, who portrayed his mother. Abbass is also widely recognized for her role as Marcia Roy in Succession. The academy serves to formalize training programs that are already underway in Gaza.

Its nine-month Gaza Filmmaking Diploma blends theoretical and practical instruction, having launched in March with an initial cohort of 25 young Palestinian women. Shalh, who also established the Gaza International Women’s Film Festival, discussed the mission of the academy in an official statement announcing its launch.

“In Gaza, cinema is not merely an art form; it is a means of preserving memory, reclaiming our right to shape our own image, and giving a new generation the tools to tell its own story,” Shalh stated. “We want the academy to open a window for young people and women in Gaza to learn, create and make their own films, and for their voices and images to reach the world. We invite our partners in institutions, universities and the international film community to be part of building this space.”

The academy is additionally working on establishing a filmmaking degree that will be accredited by Al Quds Open University. Alongside educational courses, the program seeks to forge partnerships that assist filmmakers in Gaza in presenting their work at international festivals and to global audiences.

Masri, whose directorial credits include the 2015 prison drama 3000 Nights, shared her perspective in a statement: “We believe that creativity and cinema can empower, preserve human memory, and build bridges that transcend borders.”

A formal presentation is scheduled to take place at Venice’s Sale Docks space on Wednesday. This event will coincide with a celebration for the second Gaza International Festival for Women's Cinema, which is slated for October. The program features screenings of Maria Candelaria Palma Marcelino’s Flowers of My Country and Jacir’s Like Twenty Impossibles, with organizers actively calling on universities, film funds, and cultural institutions to support the academy's teaching and production efforts.

Notably, two Palestinian films are featured among the premieres at this year's Venice Film Festival: Ahmed Hassouna's Citizen Osama and Muayad Alayan's Conversation With the Sea.