Lyd, which recently played at Melbourne's Palestinian Film Festival, is a cinematic exploration of the city formerly known as Lyd, a place with a rich and tumultuous history that has been shaped by its many inhabitants and the broader geopolitical forces at play.

Philip Gnadt and Mickey Yamine’s 2016 film Gaza Surf Club tells the story of several Palestinians and their relationship with the sea. Each of them finds a form of liberation while surfing. We see their struggle to form a thriving surf club whilst living under Israeli occupation.

This is one of the most important films in this year’s festival. I would implore anyone wanting to learn more about Palestinian history to watch it. 

Factually, this film is about the stain that the 1948 Nakba left on its people. Symbolically, it’s about children who are trapped in a cycle of trauma that they will never outlive. It’s terrifying to think of the thousands of children who this story now belongs to, but it is important not to look away.