As we approach the one-year anniversary of the October 7th attacks, in which Hamas gunmen broke through the Gaza border and killed hundreds of people, two documentary films take a look back at this terrible event that sparked the current Israel-Hamas war and subsequent genocide in Gaza. One Day In October focuses on the surviving residents of Kibbutz Be’eri, which was targeted by Hamas. Through CCTV, recorded calls, and Hamas livestream footage, the documentary takes viewers hour-by-hour through the attack.

It briefly discusses Be’eri’s history as a commune established in 1946 with the aim of widening Israel’s borders. Mainly, though, it highlights the socialist principles of Be’eri as well as its strong sense of community, making it all the more horrific when residents recount being forced to hide in unlockable bomb shelters for hours as gunmen killed their neighbours. Though the film is too small in scope for viewers to learn anything concrete about October 7th, it does convey the terror experienced by the people of Be’eri, many of whom lost loved ones, took bullet wounds, and nearly suffocated from smoke inhalation as their homes were set alight.

Conversely, Surviving October 7th: We Will Dance Again opts to look at the Nova music festival. It takes the time to establish what the trance music scene meant to fans and to establish their relationships and who they are. This documentary offers a wider understanding of the scale of these attacks because the festival-goers scattered after the missiles began: some stayed on the grounds, while others fled to Be’eri, to roadside bomb shelters, or to the nearby military base, none of which proved to be safe. Equally, individual stories still stick out: a young man’s first experience on MDMA becomes a nightmare; a father and his disabled daughter are murdered just hours after dancing together as the sun rose; and a young couple are separated, perhaps forever.

Those murdered on October 7th deserve to be remembered, and the trauma of the survivors should be respected, but it’s hard not to wonder why there aren’t similar documentaries lined up about Palestinian suffering. The Palestinian people have been murdered en-masse over the course of decades, this current genocide being an escalation of what was already happening. Those that survived have been displaced over and over again. If we are interested in the human cost of this war, then where are their stories?

One Day In October airs on Channel 4, Wednesday 9 October; Surviving October 7th: We Will Dance Again is available now on BBC iPlayer.