“I remember everything”, says Mohammed Imrani, who is hardly seen in Florinda Ciucio’s short film. But we hear him. And we follow Imrani’s hand, which draws a version of a Gaza in full knowledge of the fact that it only still exists in his memory. Ciucio’s setting is pared down to the greatest possible degree: a light pad, a few sheets of white paper, a pencil. Streets and buildings start to appear already, the famous “Al-Baqa” bar, where Imrani kissed his girlfriend for the first time and where drinks made from mangos and strawberries are served alongside coffee. There is the sea and the statue of a phoenix, which means a lot to the people of Gaza because “it doesn’t die”. Imrani’s sketches are at once detailed and abstract. In quick, tender movements, his drawings open up a space that doesn’t just come across as a personal portal but also as an invitation to us: to not forget.

Carolin Weidner