Investigating a sealed-off war zone
Sat 18 April 2026
09:30
Free
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The Israeli war on Gaza has forced newsrooms to establish new models of reporting. As Palestinian journalists in Gaza live through the same atrocities they are documenting and with access for international journalists still closed off after more than two years, it has meant that newsrooms, filmmakers and most crucially journalists in Gaza have had to recalibrate how to investigate and report war crimes.
In this panel, we hear from award-winning journalists working in news, longform and documentary video on navigating these challenges. The speakers will focus on both the logistics of collaborative projects between Palestinian journalists in Gaza and international journalists and the importance of these collaborations with examples of high-impact, high-quality reporting from and about Gaza. Through highlighting different formats ranging from quicker turned print and video to longform documentaries, we’ll hear from journalists who have spent the past two years investigating war crimes in Gaza.
Moderated by Kavitha Chekuru.
Modified more than a month ago
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Laila Al-Arian
Laila Al-Arian is the executive producer of Fault Lines, an award-winning news documentary program on Al Jazeera English. Under her leadership Fault Lines produced six investigative documentaries on Israel’s war on Gaza, including The Night Won’t End, Starving Gaza, Kids Under Fire, and All That Remains about a child amputee from Gaza. Her other reporting has ranged from the Trump administration's Muslim ban to the impact of the heroin epidemic on children and an investigation into factory conditions producing garments for Walmart and Gap in Bangladesh. Prior to joining Fault Lines, Laila worked for Al Jazeera English’s news division, covering everything from Guantanamo Bay’s youngest detainee to the re-settlement of Iraqi refugees in the U.S. For her work, she has been honored with four News and Documentary Emmys, two Peabody Awards, two Robert F Kennedy Awards, Overseas Press Club awards and has been nominated for 28 News and Documentary Emmys. She received a BA in English literature from Georgetown University and an M.S. from Columbia's Graduate School of Journalism. Her work has appeared in The Nation, Salon, The Independent, and other publications, and she is co-author of the book Collateral Damage: America's War Against Iraqi Civilians.
Kavitha Chekuru
Kavitha Chekuru is an independent journalist and documentary filmmaker. Her reporting on human rights and justice has focused on topics such as the war on Gaza, the US bombing campaign in Afghanistan, numerous investigations into the killings of land rights activists in Latin America and enforced disappearances in Mexico. She directed and produced the award-winning documentary The Night Won't End which investigated Israeli war crimes in Gaza and the role of the United States. In the US, her reporting has covered a wide range of issues such as safety lapses in the air and rail industries, Indigenous land rights, family separation at the US-Mexico border and the transformation of American politics over the past decade. Her writing has been featured in The Nation, The New York Times, The Intercept and Rolling Stone. Her reporting has been recognized with the Peabody award, the George Polk award, the Edward R. Murrow award, and seven News and Documentary Emmy nominations.
Ashraf Mashharawi
Ashraf Mashharawi is an Emmy-award-winning Palestinian filmmaker and journalist from Gaza. Since 2000, he has produced films on a wide range of topics from war zones, including in Palestine, Ukraine, Yemen, Africa and Syria. His films have received international awards and he was honored in London for his influential coverage of the 2009 Gaza war and recognized at the Sarajevo Film Festival for his pioneering role in the film industry in the region. Most recently, he won the Silver Dolphin Award for his film Palestine 1920 and the 2025 International Emmy Award. Following the ceasefire in Gaza, Mashharawi and his crews continue to document the consequences of the war, including loss, survival and the long, difficult process of trying to rebuild life after destruction.
Emily Tripp
Emily Tripp is executive director of Airwars.
Festival Internazionale del Giornalismo
Il Festival Internazionale del Giornalismo di Perugia è un evento annuale che riunisce professionisti dei media, esperti di comunicazione e appassionati di informazione da tutto il mondo. Si svolge nel centro storico di Perugia e offre conferenze, dibattiti, workshop e opportunità di networking sui temi più rilevanti del giornalismo contemporaneo.