Osama Al-Ashi in Citizen Osama.
HOLLYWOOD, CA (LA ELEMENTS) 10/24/2026 – There is no easing into the images of devastation that greet viewers in Ahmed Hassouna’s documentary, Citizen Osama (Al Mowaten Osama).
Set in Northern Gaza, the film centers on journalist Osama Al-Ashi and opens with the birth of his son to the sound of thundering bombardment by the Israeli forces. The year is 2024 and Gaza is falling.
Throughout Citizen Osama, the helplessness of the civilian population is in sharp focus as attacks with weaponry such as quadcopter drones send people desperately running for their lives. Scenes of massive destruction cloak the landscape as explosives take down entire buildings.
Amidst the bombardment, the threat of famine emerges. We see the failure of humanitarian aid as boxes of food meant for a slowly starving population are airdropped into the sea. We see boys fishing for snails, yes snails, to help feed their families. And Al-Ashi himself not only reports on the struggle for survival in Northern Gaza; he endures it as well. Along with everyone else, he does his best to provide for his family by joining the almost futile search for affordable diesel fuel and decent food.
Why not leave then? Hassouna beautifully illustrates the family ties and kinship felt among neighbors fighting to stay where they have raised their families for years-a bond that helps them survive the unlivable. One such moment occurs after a building has been struck with an explosive. People with little regard for their own safety, frantically dig through the rubble with their hands and manage to save a neighbor. As desperate as their situation is, Northern Gaza is still home.
Citizen Osama also clarifies how to many Palestinians, displacement means losing identity, “a soul leaving its body behind” as Al-Ashi expresses when his own situation becomes unlivable and he and his family must finally depart.
While the images captured in this documentary do show the devastation of war, they also illuminate something else: the resilience of the people of Gaza.
However, such images come with a price. Citizen Osama highlights the deliberate targeting of journalists by Israeli armed forces. The deaths of Hossam Shabat (Drop Site News, Al Jazeera), Mohammed Mansour (The Asahi Shimbun), and Ismail al-Ghoul (Al Jazeera) are all addressed in this film.
Hassouna chooses a straightforward chronological approach for his documentary. One that spans roughly a year and is anchored by the birth of Al-Ashi’s child. Structuring his film this way enhances the audience’s understanding of the subject matter. As for Al-Ashi himself, we discover early on that his intent was never to become a journalist. His passion is photography. He worked as an artistic photographer until the war in Gaza drove him to frontline reporting. In Citizen Osama, you see a lot of his footage integrated with that of Hassouna’s. This has the effect of bringing the viewer as close as possible to what is happening on the ground. His reports have been used by outlets such as Channel 4 in Great Britain, ARD from Germany and CCTV from China.
With a running time of just under 70 minutes, Citizen Osama captures in detail the excruciating day-to-day struggle for survival of the people of Gaza. This documentary also serves as a powerful tribute to the courage of the Palestinian journalists who believed and still believe that if they could only get their stories out to the rest of the world, the killing would finally end.
Citizen Osama screened on October 21, 2026 at the AFI Film Festival.
Citizen Osama
Cast Osama Al-Ashi
Director Ahmed Hassouna
Producers Rashid Masharawi, Laura Nikolov
Composer Rasmus Steen
Cinematographer Yousef Mashharawi
Editor Denis Le Paven
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