Very Small Dreams, the short documentary by Palestinian director I'timad Washah that I scored earlier this year, has won a Special Mention from the Research Laboratories Jury at the 2026 Festival International Jean Rouch in Paris.
The film follows women in a Gaza refugee camp as they work to preserve their health and dignity amid conditions where even the most basic needs — privacy, hygiene, safety — become nearly impossible to meet. It's part of From Ground Zero+, the anthology project initiated by director Rashid Masharawi, building on the work of the original From Ground Zero collection.
The jury singled out the film for the strength and rarity of its testimony, made inside a refugee camp in Gaza, and for the way Washah gives voice to women's experiences that are so often left unseen. They noted the unflinching honesty with which she films the physical, bodily reality of that struggle — with real humanity and care for her subjects.
It's been a genuine honour to write music for this film, and to work once again with Laura Nikolov and the team at Coorigines Production, alongside Reema Mahmoud and Souad Al Nawajha behind the camera, editor Marion Boé, and sound by Sarah Fasseur-Leroux. Very Small Dreams was produced with support from the Masharawi Fund for Films and Filmmakers in Gaza and Metafora Production.
Since its release, the film has screened at Elgouna Film Festival, the Oran International Arab Film Festival, Amman International Film Festival, FIFDH Geneva, Carthage Film Festival (JCC), and Cork Film Festival — and now adds Jean Rouch to that list.