First of its kind Gaza film to screen in Cork

A harrowing new documentary filmed from inside Gaza’s hospitals by medics on the frontline will be screened in Cork this weekend.

The first feature-length documentary to be filmed inside Gaza’s hospitals, ‘The Mission’, will be screened at the Cork College of FET, Douglas Street Campus, this Saturday at 6pm.

The 90 minute film follows the acclaimed British-Iraqi NHS nerve surgeon Dr Mohammed Tahir as he embarks on his third humanitarian mission to Gaza in October 2024. The film is a personal, unfiltered account filmed over four months.

Amid waves of casualties flooding overwhelmed hospitals, Dr Tahir fights tirelessly alongside his colleagues to save civilian lives. ‘The Mission’ tells the human story behind the relentless bombardment, capturing the raw intensity of Gaza’s operating rooms. Urgent and unflinching, the film stands as a historic testament to human courage and compassion amid profound catastrophe.

“I deal with patients from zero all the way to old age,” explained Dr Tahir.

“I’ve operated on hundreds of people and seen thousands. I operate every day from morning ‘till night. Everything here is destroyed. Buildings, streets, normal life - it’s wiped out.

“If you came and you took a ten minute tour of Gaza, you would be left speechless,” he said.

More than 1,700 people have been killed since October 2023 and Dr Tahir and his team work under near impossible conditions, with frequent power cuts, no ICU, and a near total absence of pain relief, antibiotics, or anaesthetic.

Among hundreds of his patients is Mariam, a ten year old girl whose arm was torn off when her home was attacked. Over a series of complex surgeries, Dr Tahir battles to save her arm, performing the first ever replant of its kind in the history of Gaza. He holds the hand of a boy whose entire family was killed, amputates the shattered leg of another child, and treats hundreds more with all manner of casualties - mangled limbs, burns, and shrapnel injuries.

Filmed by two members of his medical team, ‘The Mission’ captures the raw, brutal reality of Gaza’s operating rooms in real time. With so many journalists killed - at least 270 at the last count - and no access for western media, medical professionals are often the sole witnesses, risking their lives to document the truth.

‘The Mission’ is an independent documentary, produced by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Mike Lerner and Roast Beef Productions.

Mr Lerner said: “‘The Mission’ is a plea from Gaza to show the world what has happened. The unique footage it captures provides a historical record of events in real time.”

Tickets for Saturday’s screening of ‘The Mission’ cost €10 and are available at the door.