Home

Session Times

Now Showing

Coming Soon

Festivals

Luna Palace logo

Cinemas

Cinema Club

Events

Outdoor

Films
Now ShowingComing SoonSession Times
Our Cinemas
Session TimesNow ShowingEvents
From Ground Zero - Charm

Book Tickets

Select a cinema

Select a day

Book a session

6:45PM

Synopsis

Organised by the Mashawari Fund, founded in November 2023 to provide a means of expression to internally displaced artists in Gaza, this film compiles 22 shorts made in the besieged Gaza Strip, providing critical context beyond the brutal livestream.

In November 2023, Gaza-born Palestinian director Rashid Masharawi (Passing Dreams [PFF’25], Falastine Stereo, Leila’s Birthday) founded the Masharawi Fund to support films and filmmakers in Gaza. From Ground Zero, their first project, gave displaced artists—survivors of Israel’s assault—a platform for personal expression. The collection features 22 short films, spanning documentary, drama, stop-motion, and experimental video art.

These films offer crucial context, countering the gruesome livestreams seen globally. Through allegory and creativity, filmmakers reflect on survival under bombardment. Khamis Masharawi’s Soft Skin shows orphaned children in an art therapy workshop, while Nidal Damo’s Everything is Fine follows a comedian who finds his venue destroyed after a massacre. Ahmed Hassouna’s Sorry Cinema explores a filmmaker’s fractured relationship with the art form.

From Ground Zero provides an urgent response to catastrophe and a powerful portrait of Gaza’s resilient artistic community.

Arabic with English subtitles.


Opening Date

Friday, May 2, 2025

Rating

CTC

Length

131m


Reviews

The very existence of From Ground Zero is a testament to hope.
Austin Chronicle
A moving testament to cinema itself and the human ability to create.
Film Daze
A profound testament to the importance of artistic statements in the face of the day-to-day horrors in Gaza.
The Playlist
Miraculous.
AV Club
A cry for humanity. A cry for justice.
Screen Rant
A staggering achievement... it shows that, after a catastrophe, art is not only still possible but necessary. [...] For all its horror and sadness, this is one of the most hopeful films I’ve ever seen.
RogerEbert.com
These filmmakers process their painful present and sketch hopeful visions of the future... They are making new images of Palestinian life, ones that celebrate survival instead of only documenting despair.
The Hollywood Reporter

Luna Recommended

Funny Birds

93m

Funny Birds

A heartfelt comedy starring Catherine Deneuve, the grande dame of French cinema.

View film
PFF25: Gazan Tales + An Orange from Jaffa

110m

A deeply moving documentary that offers an intimate portrayal of the everyday lives of four men in Gaza.

View film
PFF25: A Fidai Film + Upshot

110m

A poignant exploration of identity, memory, and resistance, told through a unique blend of documentary and experimental filmmaking techniques.

View film
PFF25: The Teacher

A powerful political drama that explores the deep emotional and moral complexities of resistance, loss, and survival under occupation.

View film
PFF25: To A Land Unknown

107m

A powerful exploration of the emotional and social challenges faced by Palestinian refugees living in Athens.

View film
Monsieur Aznavour

134m

The true story behind the Armenian immigrant who became the face of French music.

View film
The Phoenician Scheme

Wes Anderson returns with a dark tale of espionage following a strained father-daughter relationship within a family business.

View film
The Wedding Banquet

102m

Two big problems, one little lie.

View film
Luna Film Reel Still Showing Since 1994 illustration

Signup for eNews

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get the latest movie updates from us.

Luna Palace logo
Films Now ShowingComing SoonSession Times

Cinemas

Still Showing Since 1994