A Short Film about Gaza by Iyad Hajjaj Sends out a Powerful Message
By Ras H. Siddiqui
Resistance can take many forms, and, regretfully, often impels violence, but peaceful protests and the use of the rusty old pen (keyboard now) is usually the preferred course, and decidedly, a more effective method too. The latter can have a lasting impact on people who do not mind reading. And then there is the medium of film, especially the shorter version, which is getting more attention in today’s age of social media. One such effort was shared in Sacramento, California, at a local hotel on Sunday December 14, 2025. It was a film on Gaza directed by Iyad Hajjaj titled “My Foot is in Heaven.”
One must live under a rock these days not to notice what the Palestinian people have been going through for more than two years now in Gaza. The horrible images coming from there have even moved some in the American Jewish community, and it came as no surprise that they too attended the showing of the film in Sacramento. Members of the Jewish Voice for Peace organization are familiar faces to us now and we, who have deep concern for the plight of the victims of this conflict, welcome them. But now on to the film and its director.
Iyad Hajjaj wears many hats including Physical Therapist, Actor and Filmmaker. He is from Gaza but one could easily mistake him for being a fellow Pakistani, until he speaks. If we recall the American television miniseries Ms Marvel (2022) which included a host of Pakistan’s biggest stars including Nimra Bucha, Samina Ahmed, Fawad Khan and Mehwish Hayat, Iyad played the role of Uncle Rasheed in a couple of episodes. He has the looks of a rugged Pashtun.
Iyad’s outlook is that of a committed pacifist, like the Khudai Khidmatgars who practiced non-violent resistance. I was able to catch his responses during a question-and-answer session before we saw the movie. Iyad informed us that he came to Hollywood around 18 years ago and was often discouraged by being given bad guy roles. It was then that he decided to make his own films with a strong message to bolster interfaith understanding. His company “Missing Peace Pictures Inc” was born out of his passion to communicate across barriers. A short film named “Not in My Backyard” (available for viewing on YouTube) is an excellent example of his attempts to reach out to all audiences.
There are more films written and directed by Iyad Hajjaj but “My Foot is in Heaven” could be described as his most challenging attempt at moviemaking yet. It fits right in with his message, that the children in Gaza do not even get a chance to become teenagers and are forced into adulthood by circumstances early on in life, for personal and family survival. More details cannot be shared here because it is extremely easy to spoil the surprise contained in a short film.
It starts off with a family of four who are living on scavenged food, little hope, and their strong Islamic beliefs after having lost family members, relatives, and friends to the bombs. Area doctors are dead and hospitals have been destroyed. Iyad plays the strong father figure, just trying to keep his family members alive in their tent community. This film shares the message that it is not only one’s family members in Gaza who are killed and ascend to heaven, but parts of them can make the journey too. And with them pieces of many hearts, and not to forget, pieces of our humanity, accompany them on this journey.
There was not a dry eye in the hall, including mine, when the film reached its quick conclusion. It took a while to regain one’s composure. Talking to Iyad, I asked what it would cost to make this story into a full-length film (something that he really wants to do). He quoted one to one and a half million dollars depending on his actor and production choices. All I can add here is that one hopes that he succeeds in getting that funding because the result could be priceless!
