Films on Human Rights and International Law in Palestine/Israel
January 29th, 2010
Films focusing on Israel's apartheid wall
The Iron Wall, Produced by Mohammed Alatar,
Released 2006
Running time 52 minutes
The Iron Wall documentary
exposes the timeline, size and population of the settlements, and their
impact
on the peace process. This film also touches on the latest project to
make the
settlements a permanent fact on the ground - the wall that Israel is building in the West
Bank and its impact on the Palestinian's peoples. Settlements
and related infrastructures are
impacting every aspect of life for all Palestinians from land
confiscation,
theft of natural resources, confiscation of the basic human rights,
creation of
an apartheid-like system, to the devastating impact in regards to the
future of
the region and the prospect of the peace process.Palestinians
and Israelis began the peace
process based on a very simple principle: land for peace. Settlements
destroy
that principle and create a land with no peace.
Occupation 101, Produced by Sufyan Omeish and
Abdallah Omeish, Released 2007
Running time 90 minutes
This film details life
under Israeli military rule, the role of the United States
in the conflict, and
the major obstacles that stand in the way of a lasting and viable peace.
The
roots of the conflict are explained through first-hand on-the-ground
experiences from leading Middle East
scholars,
peace activists, journalists, religious leaders and humanitarian workers
whose
voices have too often been suppressed in American media outlets. The
film
covers a wide range of topics including the first wave of Jewish
immigration
from Europe in the 1880's, the 1920 tensions, the 1948 war, the 1967
war, the
first Intifada of 1987, the Oslo Peace Process, Settlement expansion,
the role
of the United States Government, the second Intifada of 2000, the
separation
barrier and the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, as well as many heart
wrenching
testimonials from victims of this tragedy.
Rana’s Wedding, Directed by Hany Abu-Assad,
Released 2004
Running time 90 minutes
Rana wakes up one morning
to an ultimatum delivered by her father: She must either choose a
husband from
a pre-selected list of eligible men, or she must accompany her father
abroad.
Rana's Wedding is a romantic drama about a Palestinian girl who wants to
get
married to the man of her own choice. With only ten hours to find her
boyfriend
in occupied Jerusalem,
Rana sneaks out of her father's house at daybreak to find her forbidden
love,
Khalil. Facing barriers and occupation which have become an everyday
reality,
Rana overcomes her fears and doubts, deciding not to let anyone control
her
life.
Wall of Shame, Produced by Alternate Focus,
Released 2003
Running time 28 minutes
The wall being constructed
on the West Bank by the Israeli
government is
twenty-five feet high. Studded with guard towers and armaments, and
encrusted
with high-tech sensors, the wall cuts across the land, separating
Palestinians
from their own farms, their own neighbors, and from the Israeli
settlements
which have sprung up rapidly as a result of lavish subsidies from the
Israeli
government. Alternate Focus cameraman Rodney Devereux brings us face-to
face
with the wall and all its implications.
Dispatches: The Killing Zone, Produced
by Rodrigo Vasquez, Released 2006
Running time 49 minutes
In this report for Britain's
Channel 4, reporter Sandra Jordan and producer Rodrigo Vasquez face
gunfire and
tear gas within hours of arriving at a memorial service for Rachel
Corrie, the
peace activist crushed by an army bulldozer two days before.
The Dispatches team
reveals what life is really like in a war zone. They capture on film the
aftermath of an Israeli missile attack that assassinates a leader of the
deadly
Hamas group. Children playing in the street nearby are killed or have
limbs
blown off.Jordan and Vasquez film the
impact of an attack in which Israeli troops fire shells that explode in
mid air
above densely populated areas and spray thousands of razor sharp darts
in a
wide arc. The team also encounters sniper fire from Israeli watchtowers,
and
endures tank shelling alongside a class of cowering school children.
Erased - Wiped off the Map, Produced
by C.I. Comunicion
Running time 8 minutes
This documentary, filmed
inside Gaza
during the Israeli siege, shows the human cost of the violent attack. It
offers
witness to the frequent bombing of schools, markets, United Nations
buildings,
and densely populated city centers that terrorized the Palestinian
civilian
population. Through exposure of the many casualties, including women and
children, this video captures the terrible emotions experienced during
the
attack.
Tunnel
Trade, by
Laila
El-Haddad and Saeed Taji Farouky, Released 2007 Two part series,
total running time 22 minutes
total Everything
moves through
Rafah's tunnels: from cigarettes and medicine to cash and people. But
the
residents have also suffered enormously. Israeli operations to destroy
the
tunnels have demolished thousands of homes over the past seven years. Israel's
main
concern with the tunnels is the smuggling of weapons to armed
Palestinian
groups. But for the smugglers themselves, there is far more to the
tunnel trade
than politics and arms smuggling. It is a vast enterprise, and pays five
times
an average annual Gaza
salary in one month. People & Power investigates one of the most
lucrative
businesses in Palestine.
Young Freud in Gaza, by Pe Holmquist and Suzanne
Khardalian, Released 2009
2 part series, total running time 58 minutes
Young Freud in Gaza
profiles Ayed, a young psychotherapist for the Palestinian Authority's
Clinic
for Mental Health, and shows his consultations with a variety of
patients, both
male and female, adults and children, in his office and during house
calls,
providing therapy or prescribing medication for depression, stress,
anxiety
attacks and suicidal tendencies. Filmed during 2006-2008, against the
violent
backdrop of armed clashes between Hamas and Fatah factions, Israeli
missile
attacks and the constant overhead presence of a surveillance dirigible,
the
film shows Ayed training young wives and mothers in deep-breathing
exercises to
calm anxiety, counseling maimed Hamas and Fatah militants in meditation
techniques, and leading children in group therapy sessions in which they
discuss their reaction to the death of siblings and draw pictures to
cope with
their emotions.
Available for free in 2 parts here. The film is also available for purchase here.
