Until the Sky Falls Quiet
Directed and produced by Erica Yen-Chin Long and Jason Korr
Avenoir Productions, 2025
81 minutes
The new documentary, Until the Sky Falls Quiet, is a devastating depiction of the health tragedy inflicted on the population by Israel’s genocidal war against Gaza.
For those who support the cause of Palestine, it provides further motivation to keep up the struggle for justice.
For anyone who doubts the human disaster that Israel is inflicting on the people of Gaza, this film should make it clear. The sheer inhumanity of the Israeli genocide is displayed for all to see.
The film follows two Australian volunteer doctors — Dr Sanjay Adusumilli, a surgeon, and Dr Siraj Sira, a general practitioner — both from Western Sydney. They joined a medical mission in April last year to the frontlines of Al Aqsa Hospital, Gaza.
The film, directed and produced by Erica Yen-Chin Long and Jason Korr, premiered at the Adelaide Film Festival last month.
At its November 15 inaugural screening in Sydney, at the Bryan Brown Theatre, Bankstown, a packed audience of several hundred people were shocked by the sheer cruelty of the Israeli attacks, but inspired by the courage and determination of the people of Gaza.
“Our hope was to make a film which shows that Palestinian deaths aren’t just numbers in a news report,” Long told FilmInk. “Each person is a human being with a name, with an entire life story, and each death is an entire future torn apart, with countless connected lives forever changed.”
“This is a story about the best and worst of humanity,” Korr added. “We see through the lens of health professionals travelling to the other side of the world not just to help people, but to also connect with them. People who still manage to find moments of beauty and joy in extraordinary difficulty.”
The film graphically contrasts scenes of the doctors’ family lives back at home in Western Sydney — including playing backyard cricket — and the devastation unleashed on the people of Gaza by the Israeli war machine. While doctors struggle with the lack of medical resources in the Gaza hospital, you hear the constant menacing sounds of bombs exploding and drones — night and day.
Yet, we also see the inspiring work of medical and nursing students in Gaza supporting the doctors in their difficult task, which includes the daily tragic dilemma of deciding who they can save and who is too badly wounded to survive. We are also amazed to see a young boy, Ziko, who volunteers tirelessly to assist the medical staff in their difficult tasks in the hospital.
The Sydney screening was followed by a Q&A session with Sira and Adusumilli. They were joined by surgeon Dr Bushra Othman, who has joined many medical missions in Gaza and elsewhere, and engineer Khaled Shakhshir, who has assisted with technical support in Gaza.
Sira told the audience that “Gaza is such a welcoming place, despite the suffering.”
He spoke of the challenges of working in a war zone. “It is hard to sleep properly at night, with the constant sounds of bombs and drones.
“There is a severe lack of milk and nutrition for children and others. So much sorrow and death, but we have to be there for them. It is hard, but you have to do the best you can.”
The panelists discussed the fact that there are now more child amputees proportionate to the population in Gaza than anywhere else in the world.
The film is difficult to watch, is not suitable for children and contains images of dead and mutilated bodies, including of babies.
The panelists expressed hope that because the film “was made by Australians for Australians”, it would “help get people more involved”. They urged us to “Don’t stop talking about Gaza. Don’t give up hope.”
The film was supported by the Global Medical Foundation Australia and the Palestine Australian New Zealand Medical Association, among other organisations.
Katie Shammas, from the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network, spoke at the screening about the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which was inspired by the South African anti-Apartheid campaign.
“We can follow in that inspiring and ultimately successful movement. The world is awake about Gaza now. We can all help make change,” she said.
[Visit the film's website (untiltheskyfallsquiet.com) for information on community screenings and to watch the trailer.]