Aisheen (Still Alive in Gaza), a documentary by Swiss director Nicolas Wadimoff that depicts the continuing life in Gaza for the survivors of Israel's military offensive last year, won a prize of the independent Jury of ( the Ecumenical Jury ) at Berlinale film festival 2010 for a film in the category of Forum. Filmed over a two-week period in February 2009, immediately after the Israeli aggression on Gaza (Operation Cast Lead), the documentary reveals people struggling with bereavement and injury, and crippled by the blockades that affect their daily lives. The film focuses on everyday survival within Gaza, where life goes on amid occasional missile fire and the destruction left by the war, the German Press Agency 'DPA' reported. Characters include a fairground operator who finds innovative ways of repairing his rides, boys gathered on the beach to go fishing, and clowns who help children to laugh about the bombing raids. At a Gazan zoo, several animals died in the military offensive and there is little food for those that survived. And yet the zookeepers are proud of their animals - including the stuffed lion - and find bones of a dead whale to add to the collection. The film shows how difficult everyday aspects of life are under the blockades inflicted upon Gaza. There are scenes of commotion at the border crossing to Egypt, where people are desperate for medical treatment, and crushes of people clamour for UN handouts of flour. A woman who has waited two weeks for gas is left empty-handed after missing the delivery.
