FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 8, 2026

CINEMA GUILD ACQUIRES NORTH AMERICAN RIGHTS TO WITH HASAN IN GAZA BY KAMAL ALJAFARI

NEW YORK, NY – Cinema Guild announced today the acquisition of North American distribution rights to With Hasan in Gaza the latest feature by acclaimed Palestinian filmmaker and artist Kamal Aljafari (A Fidai Film). Constructed from three MiniDV tapes shot in Gaza in 2001 and rediscovered years later, the film transforms recovered footage into a profound cinematic meditation on memory, loss, and the passage of time.

Originally conceived as a search for a former prison mate from 1989, the film unfolds into an unexpected road trip from the north to the south of Gaza with Hasan, a local guide whose fate remains unknown. As the camera moves through Gaza’s streets and landscapes, it records fleeting moments of everyday life—fragments of a reality now irreversibly altered. With Hasan in Gaza throws mainstream images of a people displaced into relief through the traces of absence bygone time evokes.

With Hasan in Gaza had its World Premiere in the International Competition at the Locarno Film Festival, where it was awarded the Europa Cinemas Label. The film has since screened widely at major international festivals including Toronto International Film Festival and the New York Film Festival. Cinema Guild plans a theatrical release in 2026.

The deal was negotiated by Peter Kelly of Cinema Guild with the film’s producer Flavia Mazzarino and director Kamal Aljafari.

“Director Kamal Aljafari, has put together a touching and moving piece of art. We are honored to be releasing the film in theaters and beyond” said Peter Kelly, President of Cinema Guild.

“We are profoundly moved that With Hasan in Gaza will be distributed in North America through one of the great champions of world and independent cinema in the U.S. We look forward to sharing the life and humanity captured in this film” said Kamal Aljafari, director, and Flavia Mazzarino, executive producer of the film.

With Hasan in Gaza is conceived, directed, shot, and edited by Kamal Aljafari, in collaboration with Hasan Elboubou. The film features music by Simon Fisher Turner and Attila Faravelli, with additional music by Lucy Railton, sound mixing by Jochen Jezussek, and color grading and compositing by Yannig Willmann. The film is produced by Kamal Aljafari Productions, with executive producer Flavia Mazzarino.

Born in Palestine, Kamal Aljafari studied at the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne and has taught at The New School in New York and the Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin. His work has screened widely at major festivals and institutions worldwide, and his installation The Camera of the Dispossessed was shown at the 35th Bienal de São Paulo. His previous feature A Fidai Film (2024) screened at over one hundred festivals and won numerous international awards. A premier distributor of world cinema, independent films and documentaries, Cinema Guild’s upcoming releases include Hong Sangsoo’s What Does That Nature Say to You and Aleksandre Koberidze’s Dry Leaf. Recent releases include a retrospective of João César Monteiro’s films in 4k restorations, Marta Mateus’ Fire of Wind, Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich’s The Ballad of Suzanne Césaire, Hong Sangsoo’s By the Stream, and a retrospective of the French New Wave filmmaker Luc Moullet.

For press inquiries, please contact us at:

(212) 685-6242 or press at cinemaguild dot com

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