Synopsis:

The Goal is the story of young football players in a junior national team and their dream of playing for the Palestinian national team, “Al-Fida’i.” What will happen to their dream following the genocidal war on Gaza?

“The Goal” is a documentary film that follows four young Palestinian footballers from Gaza: Abdullah, Mahmoud, Raafat, and Ab- del Aleem. United by their dream of representing Palestine and participating in the AFC U-20 Asian Cup qualifiers in 2025.

On October 7th, the world of these young athletes turned upside down, and their dream was almost crushed when training pro- grams were cancelled, and all travel halted as Israeli forces occupied Gaza. Their stadiums were reduced to rubble, transformed into field hospitals, or became mass graves or refugee camps. The war prevented them from joining the AFC U-17 Asian Cup qualifiers in October 2024.

Through their mobile phones, we document their daily lives, capturing their living conditions and their struggle to secure basic necessities, all while keeping their dream alive. It is a story of resilience, hope, and the power of football to inspire and endure even in the darkest times.

Director & Producer profile:

Marwah Jbara Tibi is a filmmaker who has produced and directed documentaries for 12 years in Palestine. Before that, she worked in journalism, media, and production for 25 years at CNN and Canadian Television (CTV). She founded her own company to produce documentaries. Her films have received prestigious awards at international festivals; many were produced by Al Jazeera Documentary .

Major projects include her feature-length documentary “Bread and Butter, 2021”, the Photographers of Palestine series (6 episodes), and her award-winning film “The Bride Dress” which won the Creative Director Award at the Arab Radio and Television Festival ASBU, Best Documentary at the International Human Rights Festival - Rabat, and Best Documentary at the Florence Film Festival. In addition, “Abbas 36”, a feature-length documentary, won for Best Documentary at the Berlin International Art Film Festival, and Best Documentary at the Toronto International Women’s Festival. Among her distinguished films are “Land Plunder, 2020”, “Battle Proven, 2017” and many other short documentaries.