Fish are the only free creatures in Gaza. I wish I were a free fish.
Free Fish follows Mohammad Kaloob — known as Abu Nagham — and his brother Ahmad, two Palestinian fishermen separated by Israel's military assault and forced displacement in Gaza, yet connected by the same sea.
Forced south to Khan Younis with his two young daughters, Abu Nagham has lost the boat and nets he once relied on after the bombing of Gaza's seaport. He uses whatever he can find to return to the water and provide food for his family.
For generations, Gaza's sea has been a source of food, work, memory, identity, and refuge.
In the north, Ahmad remains near Al-Shate'e refugee camp under total blockade. Each morning, he goes back to a coastline where fishermen are targeted, boats have been destroyed, and casting a net can cost a life.
Moving between the north and south of Gaza, Free Fish was the only film that year shot in both.
The film also follows Rami, Abu Nagham's teenage nephew, who lost his twin brother during the genocide and now fishes alone. Through him, fishing becomes more than survival: it becomes grief, inheritance, and a way of continuing.
