ASWAN   -  Palestinian director Rashid Masharawi wants to “export a different cinematic image of Gaza”, now ravaged by war, as he presides over the jury at the eighth Aswan International Women Film Festival themed on “resistance cinema”. Against the backdrop of the war in the Gaza Strip, the festival in southern Egypt decided to screen six Palestinian short films in the competition, which brings together filmmakers from across the region. This was despite many voices in the Arab world calling for the suspension of all artistic and cultural activities in solidarity with Palestinians. Masharawi is known internationally for being the first Palestinian director to be in the official selection at the Cannes Film Festival when his film “Haifa” was included in 1996. Born in the Gaza Strip to refugees from the port city of Jaffa, the director now lives in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.