Michael Moore presents From Ground Zero, a powerful Palestinian anthology film shot by 22 filmmakers in Gaza, coming to UK cinemas this September
A landmark work of collective filmmaking and a powerful testament to resilience under siege, From Ground Zero – a new Palestinian anthology feature directed by 22 filmmakers living in Gaza – will be released in UK cinemas from 12th September 2025. The film is produced by renowned Palestinian filmmaker Rashid Masharawi and executive produced by two-time Oscar winner Michael Moore.
Fusing documentary, fiction, animation, and black comedy, From Ground Zero offers an urgent, deeply personal portrait of life in Gaza during an extraordinary and devastating period. Shot across nine months between 2023 and 2024 – often in between, and at times during, aerial bombardments – the film is both a visceral time capsule and an artistic cry for humanity from a people living through sustained trauma.
The project brings together emerging and established Palestinian voices in a tapestry of short films, each between three and six minutes long. These vignettes paint an intimate, multifaceted picture of day-to-day life under siege: moments of sorrow, humour, reflection, defiance and creativity. Highlights include Everything Is Fine, in which a comedian desperately tries to shower before a stand-up set in a bombed-out venue; Out of Frame, where an artist surveys the rubble of her destroyed studio; Selfies, a quiet meditation on a young woman’s attempt to cover the visible scars of trauma; and Soft Skin, a stop-motion animation by children relaying their parents’ nightmare ritual of writing names on limbs in case of a bombing.
From Ground Zero had initially been accepted into the 2024 Cannes Film Festival before being removed from the lineup on political grounds – a move that only underscores the urgency and necessity of the film’s message. Now, it stands as Palestine’s official submission to the 2025 Academy Awards.
The UK release will be launched with a special event screening at Genesis Cinema in London on 12th September, including a live Q&A with Rashid Masharawi and special guests.
Distributed by Glasgow-based independent label Cosmic Cat, From Ground Zero offers a rare and uncompromising window into a reality too often reduced to headlines. As Variety noted, “It’s hard to ignore just how much From Ground Zero feels like history unfolding… tragedy being memorialised before our eyes.”
The editorial unit
From Ground Zero is released in select cinemas on 12th September 2025. For more information, visit the website here.
Watch the trailer for From Ground Zero here:
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