by Adam Horowitz on December 6, 2009

From Haaretz:

The Gaza Strip”s first international documentary festival, which will end tomorrow, began nearly a month after the scheduled date because Israel”s blockade made it difficult for organizers to get the films that will be screened there. . .

Palestinian director Riad Shahin, who is running the festival, told the Al-Arabiya television station that organizers had to use weapons-smuggling tunnels to bring some of the films into Gaza. The movies come from countries including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, Egypt and even Israel.

“In many cases, we had to use the smuggling tunnels that link Gaza to Egypt in order to secure the festival material,” Shahin said.