Last Friday, a group of girls studying in Oriya High School‘s Ann Belsky Moranis Cinema track set out for an investigative tour of the “Gaza envelope,” which surrounds the Gaza strip, concentrating on Kibbutz Alumim and Kibbutz Saad. The purpose for their visit was to research and refine the script that they wrote for their upcoming film project, the story of how a local family copes as a military operation rages around them. With explosions marking the daily (and nightly) soundtrack, with running to the safe-room and dealing with children’s anxieties and panic attacks are the norm, this particular family drama begins with the sudden appearance on their doorstep of an uncle who left Israel years ago and cut ties with the family. The students saw the south blooming with both flowers and bomb shelters everywhere they turned… they spoke to parents about parenting in the midst of a war. They stepped out of their bubble, travelling to a place which may be far from their homes – but is very close to their hearts.