Coastal communities across Ireland will host screenings of the documentary Shanshula, which tells the compelling story of Palestinian fishermen and fisherwomen in Gaza, on Thursday, February 20, 2025.
Directed by Palestinian filmmaker and human rights activist Musheir El Farra, the film follows the Palestinian fishing community’s struggle for survival under Israel’s decades-long blockade and now genocide of the Gaza Strip.
‘Shanshula’ is local slang for a type of fishing net used in Gaza, a symbol of the enduring spirit of these families despite overwhelming adversity. The film provides a harrowing insight into a community whose lives and livelihoods have been under attack for decades by the Israeli navy, which lethally enforces restrictions – pitching gunboats against rowing boats.
The film includes interviews with fishermen who have been displaced or disabled, or who have lost loved ones to Israeli navy attacks, and documents the seizure and destruction of boats and fishing equipment. It also tells the story of one of the few Palestinian fisherwomen in the Gaza Strip.
The international screening is part of a global initiative for World Social Justice Day where Shanshula is being shown in coastal communities worldwide, with the aim of developing a solidarity campaign among fishing communities.
Community groups along the Atlantic seaboard and islands from an Daingean, Kerry and north to Árainn Mhór, Donegal, as well as Scotland, will host the screenings simultaneously.
The screenings are free, with donations invited to a solidarity fund that will be sent directly to the displaced, maimed and bereaved fishing families of Gaza via the Solidarity Campaign in Sheffield.
February 20, 7pm:
Seanscoil Sailearna, Indreabhán, Co na Gaillimhe, Ireland.
Áras Éanna, Inis Oírr, Aran Islands, Co na Gaillimhe, Ireland.
Inishbofin Community Centre, Inishbofin, Co. Galway, Ireland.
February 20, 8pm:
Mechanics Institute, Middle St. Galway.
Coláiste Naomh Éinne, Cill Rónáin, Inis Mór.
