This is a map of Gaza, showing its cities, camps and neighbourhoods. White paint on a black floor. Nine refugees who escaped hell tell their stories within the roughly drawn outlines. They recount their previous lives, their buried dreams, the danger, the rubble and the loss of loved ones. They are oppressed and hindered, but not yet reduced to ashes or totally plunged into oblivion and darkness. By sharing their stories, the protagonists of “Who Is Still Alive” attempt to reconnect with themselves and stop being ghosts. Perhaps to come back to life.

Director: Nicolas Wadimoff

After studying film in Montreal, Nicolas Wadimoff presented his debut short film “The Bowl” in Locarno in 1991. A guitarist in an alt-rock band, he co-founded L’Usine, an independent cultural centre in Geneva. In 1992, he directed “The Golden Gloves of Akka”, a portrait of a Palestinian boxer. In 1997, he and Denis Chouinard directed their first fiction film “Clandestins”. In 2003, he founded Akka Films, a production company that has worked with many Palestinian filmmakers, among others. “Aisheen” (2010), shot in Gaza, premiered at the Berlinale. The Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival hosted his return to fiction with “Operation Libertad” (2012). “Spartiates” (2015), a portrait of an MMA coach in northern Marseille, won the Soleure Prize. “The Apollo of Gaza” (2018) opened Locarno’s Critics’ Week. Following a detour into education at HEAD-Geneva (2019–2023), he directed “UNRWA, 75 Years of a Temporary History” (2025) with Lyana Saleh.