Voyage of the Handala
Jim Koenigsaecker
Tom Hayes
United States, 2025, 29 min.
In English, Spanish with English, Spanish subtitles.
Includes violence and adult language.
Voyage of the Handala is an independent documentary film about an international group of peace activists and aid workers sailing from Europe to Gaza to raise awareness of the plight of the Palestinians and break the Israeli blockade of Gaza to deliver aid, health care and hope. The Handala, an old Norwegian fishing boat, was named for the political cartoon by Naji al-Ali depicting a defiant Palestinian boy.
Director's Statement
The Arab / Israeli conflict is one of the most pressing challenges of our time so I used the Handala’s voyage as way to explore some of the underlying issues. I also attempted to amplify the voices of our besieged collaborators in Gaza while telling the stories of the Handala’s crew members who knowingly risked their lives to try and reach them. Because of the horror of what is happening in Gaza, I tried to make the best film I could, as quickly as possible, to try and nudge the world in the right direction.
Category: Documentary, Festival Alum, Short.
Themes: Human Rights, Middle East.
Saturday, April 25
The Screening Room
12:00pm
More in Documentary
-
Red Girl Rising
Kim Stadfeld
Canada, 2025, 12 min.Joyce Jonathan Crone, Mohawk matriarch, retired teacher, activist, humanitarian reaches forward into her community of Huntsville, Ontario, opening hearts and... more ›
-
My Grandmother is a Skydiver
Polina Piddubna
Germany, 2025, 13 min.In 1960s Tajikistan, a skydiver gets a call from her granddaughter in 2022 Ukraine, sparking an intergenerational journey through trauma, memory and identity... more ›
-
Into The Pool
Scott Ballard
United States, 2026, 9 min.In her mid-seventies, synchronized swimmer Julie Vigeland continues to find herself in the pool - a place where aging dissolves into a dance of healing,... more ›