About this project

Tarzan and Arab, identical twins born and raised in Gaza, are two of the most unique filmmakers you have ever seen.  In August of this year The Guardian, UK's premier news outlet, traveled to Gaza to interview the filmmakers and discuss the challenges they face as aspiring filmmakers in the Hamas controlled and regulated Gaza Strip.

"As artists we are restricted by living in a conservative and tough community," says Arab. "Let's be realistic. Our life is under siege, under control. People don't have time for art. They spend all their time looking for crumbs. They say, 'What use is art? Art will not give you bread.' "

Despite their lack of formal training, equipment and budget, the two 23-year-old brothers have finished their first short film as well as an impressive array of hand-painted posters for future planned projects.

Their first film, Colourful Journey (see trailer above), is about factional infighting within Gaza and its political, social and personal cost. Tarzan and Arab depict a fratricidal war, their identical appearances reinforcing their message that Gazan brothers need to unite to face their common enemy.

The film won first prize at a competition in the West Bank city of Ramallah sponsored by the Am Qattan Foundation. It was also shown, with an exhibition of their posters, at the Mosaic Rooms in London in March.

When we found out about Tarzan and Arab and their amazing passion for movies, Drafthouse Films and Ain't It Cool News quickly reached out and asked if we could help source financing and excutive produce the feature version of their short film.  We have set an initial goal of $20,000 for this project.  This is still a meager amount of money for a feature production.  Should we exceed the goal, all proceeds will go towards making the production that much better.

Tarzan and Arab will be heading to Austin, Texas this month for the first Colourful Journey production meeting.  While in town, they will get the chance to realize one of their childhood dreams: to watch a movie in a theater for the first time in their lives (there are no cinemas in Gaza).  Details and tickets for the screening here.

If ever there were filmmakers who deserved the community support of Kickstarter, the twin brothers from Gaza who are determined to create despite seemingly insurmountable odds would be at the top of that list.