The First Feature-Length Documentary Shot Inside Gaza’a Hospitals, The Mission, Is Coming Globally This June
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Carl Roberts 
The Mission, the first feature-length documentary to be filmed inside Gaza’s hospitals, will be released globally on Apple TV. The film will also be available on YouTube Movies and Vimeo On Demand. See the trailer here.
The Mission, the first feature-length documentary filmed inside Gaza’s hospitals, will premiere globally on Apple TV, YouTube Movies, and Vimeo On Demand on 23 June. The Mission follows the acclaimed British-Iraqi nerve surgeon Dr. Mohammed Tahir as he embarks on his third humanitarian mission to Gaza in October 2024. The film is a personal, unfiltered account filmed over four months.
Amid waves of casualties flooding overwhelmed hospitals, Dr. Tahir fights tirelessly alongside his colleagues to save civilian lives. This is the human story behind the relentless bombardment, capturing the raw intensity of Gaza’s operating rooms. This urgent and unflinching film stands as a historic testament to human courage and compassion amid profound catastrophe.
*Dr. Mohammed Tahir worked at the following hospitals: the European Gaza Hospital, Al Aqsa Hospital, Kamal Adwan Hospital, and Public Aid Hospital (part of network of Al Ahli Baptist Hospital)
MOHAMMED TAHIR
“I deal with patients from zero all the way to old age. I’ve operated on hundreds of people and seen thousands. I operate every day from morning till night. Everything here is destroyed. Buildings, streets, normal life – it’s wiped out. …If you came and you took a 10-minute tour of Gaza, you would be left speechless,” says Dr. Mohammed Tahir.
SECRETLY FILMED
Filmed secretly by two members of his medical team, The Mission captures the raw, brutal reality of Gaza’s operating rooms in real time. With so many journalists killed – at least 270 at the last count – and no access for western media, medical professionals are often the sole witnesses. In fact, they risk their lives to document the truth.
The film shows the enormous sacrifice, bravery, humanity, and compassion of the doctors and health workers carrying out impossibly dangerous work. More than 1700 have been killed since October 2023. Dr. Tahir and his team work under near-impossible conditions. They face frequent power cuts, no ICU, and a near-total absence of pain relief. Moreover, there is a lack of antibiotics or anesthetics.
MARIAM
Among hundreds of his patients is Mariam, a 10-year-old girl who lost her arm when an attack destroyed her home. Dr. Tahir fights tirelessly to save her arm through a series of complex surgeries, achieving the first-ever replant of its kind in the history of Gaza. He also holds the hand of a boy who has just lost his entire family and performs an amputation on another child whose leg was shattered. Additionally, he treats countless others facing various injuries, from mangled limbs to burns and shrapnel wounds.
Dr. Tahir stays in Gaza till the end of January 2025 and witnesses the historic scenes as the long-hoped-for but short-lived cease-fire comes into effect. In a final act of solidarity, he walks to the North of Gaza with the hundreds of thousands of Gazans returning home after 15 months of forced displacement. A shattered landscape reduced to rubble by relentless airstrikes forms the backdrop. He has now been banned from re-entering Gaza.
Dr. Mohammed Tahir has undertaken three humanitarian aid missions to Gaza since October 2023 with FAJR GLOBAL, an American medical charity based in Texas, spending more than seven months in south, central, and northern Gaza, alongside Palestinian colleagues in some of the territory’s most overwhelmed hospitals.
MIKE LERNER
“The Mission is a plea from Gaza to show the world what has happened. The unique footage they capture provides a historical record of events in real time,” says Mike Lerner, Roast Beef Productions. “It shows the best of humanity, even while showing victims of the worst. It is a tribute to Dr. Tahir and his colleagues’ burning dedication to help the people of Gaza overcome each and every obstacle. ”
The Mission is an independent documentary created by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Mike Lerner and Roast Beef Productions. Lerner directs the film alongside the Gaza Collective, capturing footage with Dr. Tahir in Jordan and London. He then edits the film in London with his long-time collaborator, Colin Moxon.
Catch the digital release of The Mission on Apple TV, YouTube Movies, and Vimeo On Demand on June 23rd.
Introducing Carl! As the News Editor at Future of the Force, Carl has been an invaluable member of our team since early 2016. His expertise and dedication have made him an integral part of our editorial staff. Beyond his professional role, Carl is a fervent supporter of Liverpool F.C. and an avid follower of pop culture. He has a deep passion for Halloween, Friday the 13th, and the iconic movie franchises Star Wars and Star Trek.
He can be found either at his neighborhood cinema, enjoying the latest releases on the big screen, or at home streaming the newest blockbuster movies.
