Eleven Days in May review – unflinching homage to children killed in Gaza last year

For 11 days in May 2021, Gaza was bombed by Israel. There were numerous fatalities, but this documentary, co-directed by Gaza-based film-maker Mohammed Sawwaf and Michael Winterbottom, focuses solely on the children who lost their lives. It’s direct and unvarnished in approach: against a subtle, sombre score by Max Richter, a narration by Kate Winslet lists the dead and sketches details of their lives: a two-year-old who loved cats; an aspiring astronaut. Survivors are assembled to pay tribute; empty beds filmed; possessions collected into makeshift shrines. The film also includes footage of the children’s lifeless bodies – a controversial decision that many viewers will find profoundly uncomfortable.