Gaza's first film - Kegame Ghaghlian

Gaza's first photographer - Kigham Chaghlian

The film revolves around Gaza's first photographer, Kegam Jaglian, an Armenian photographer who moved from Jerusalem to Gaza in 1945, and opened the first photography studio called "Kegham Studio" in one of Gaza's main streets, Omar Al-Mukhtar. Why is he considered the godfather of photography in Gaza? We meet the collector of his archives, his family, his students and the people who knew him. We learn about Keigham and about Gaza at the same time from his diverse archive. He documented the most important landmarks in Gaza, Palestinian families, the Egyptian Revolution, the Nakba, and many other historical events in Gaza. In the film we understand why his image can be considered a true reflection of life in Gaza. From Keigham's archive, we get to know the city, to see it through his free lens for the first time, and to see how he succeeded in transferring the image from its monopoly on the military rulers and the wealthy class, and transforming it into a popular situation available to all citizens.

Marwa Jbara Tibi

A Palestinian director and journalist from Taybeh. She holds an MFA in Documentary Cinema and has extensive experience in production after working for media and television stations such as CNN and CTV.

She was known for choosing leadership and pioneering roles for women, presenting humane and poetic scenes, and focusing on the aesthetics of the place. She was distinguished by her investigative films, such as “Try on the Battlefield” and “Cybersecurity.”

She established her company, Zainab Productions, and “Al Jazeera Documentary” produced many of her films, winning Arab and international awards. “A Living’s Bread” won the silver award at the Riyadh Film Festival, the “Palestine Photographers Series” won the bronze award at the Jordan Media Festival, and “The Bride’s Dress” won an award. Creativity in directing at the ASBU Festival. As for “Abbas 36,” it was crowned the best documentary at the Toronto International Women’s Festival.