The story, against the backdrop of the Gaza Strip during the second Intifada (2003), of the friendship of two children: the Palestinian Mahmud and the Israeli Alon, united, despite everything, by a passion for the sea and surfing.
It is the common thread of The Children of Gaza, the first work by the Italian-American director Loris Lai (already award-winning for his short films and video clips) freely inspired by the children's novel On the Waves of Freedom by Nicoletta Bortolotti (Mondadori).
The film which has the soundtrack by Oscar winner Nicola Piovani, will arrive in theaters on March 28, distributed by Eagle Pictures.
In the story, set in 2003, we are in the territory of Gaza where there are still Israeli settlements.
Mahmud (11 years old) is like many other Palestinian children.
He goes to school, helps his young mother Farah, who hopes for a different life for him, plays "Israelis against Palestinians" with friends, but his great passion is surfing.
In a reality of bombings and shootings, marked by fear and danger, surfing represents a space of joy and freedom.
Mahmud's love for surfing is shared by his Israeli peer, Alon.
When the two meet on the beach a mutual curiosity is born that could become friendship, despite the extreme difficulties of the context.
Things change when the two children meet Dan (30), a former surfing champion whose career was cut short by an injury.
Dan, the victim of an addiction to painkillers, is mourning the death of her sister, killed in a bombing while working as a volunteer doctor on the Gaza Strip.
The meeting with Mahmud and Alon, and the decision to give them surfing lessons so they can chase their dreams, will change his life.
At the same time Mahmud and Alon, because of their friendship, will find themselves making a rebellious choice capable of upsetting their lives.
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