CINETOPIA:DOC presents LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL

The young Palestinian director Mohamed Jabaly is visiting a film festival in Tromsø in 2014, when the borders to Gaza close. He finds himself stuck in the arctic winter. Little does he know that it will be seven years before he can see his family again.

Through his personal archive and video calls, he shares his love and longing for his hometown, friends and family, as he tries to make a new life for himself in the arctic. The film is a love letter to Gaza, to his adopted hometown in Tromsø, and to the empowering force of storytelling.

Winner of the 2023 IDFA Award for the Best Directing and the 2024 Best Film Award at the One World International Human Rights Film Festival, LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL is a story of overcoming a life put on hold by international politics and rigid bureaucracy, told from the inside by a director who uses all his creativity to connect with the world and forge a way forward.

Cinetopia:DOC is a monthly doc club bringing audiences together to watch, discuss and connect around the documentary genre and craft. We screen exceptional documentary films alongside filmmaker Q&As or conversations as well as offer a space afterwards for continued discussion and networking in the Cameo bar. Cinetopia: DOC is supported by Film Hub Scotland, part of the BFI’s Film Audience Network, and funded by Screen Scotland and National Lottery funding from the BFI and the Scottish Documentary Institute and produced by Cinetopia, a hub of activity around filmgoing and filmmaking based in Edinburgh.