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My Ziv

Ziv Bargur wan a Platoon commander in the Paratroopers, IDF. Ziv was killed in a car accident in May 1996, when his driver fell asleep at the wheel; he was 23 years old when he died. This film tells his story and the story of his family after his death.

Shahida – Brides of Allah

March 21st, 2002, a crisp bright winter morning. It is mother’s day. Kahira makes breakfast for her four small children and hugs them goodbye as they leave for school. Only two hours later, Kahira passes through a military road block, she is with a man and another young woman. They enter a waiting car and make their way towards Jerusalem. When they reach the city, Kahira and the other woman mingle in the crowds, buy flowers and examine the adjacent streets…. An hour later a deafening explosion rips through the air. King George street in the city center is in chaos. Crowds are screaming, ambulances and police cars are whaling in the distance. Kahira stands covered in blood and pieces of flesh. Innocent bystanders help her clean up and offer to help….Kahira returns to her village. It is night. Her children are asleep and the house is silent. At 3 AM there is a knock on the door. Israeli soldiers have come to arrest her. 3 people were killed in the terrorist attach, and 80 were wounded. Kahira is sentenced to 3 life terms in prison. At the end of 2005 there were 110 women serving time as “security prisoners” in Israeli prisons. 10 of them were convicted of trying to carry out a terrorist attack. This is a substantial increase compared with five years earlier, when there were barely 5 female “security prisoners”. All these women were convicted of either carrying out, or assisting others in carrying out terrorist attacks in Israel. Most female suicide bombers (or in their words “freedom fighters”) have been involved in some form of “scandal” in their personal lives. Their decision to participate in acts of terror was often fueled by romantic encounters, a tainted reputation as a result of extra-marital relations or vicious rumors of infidelity. In order to restore their family honor and their own reputations, these women found refuge in acts of terror, in a final attempt to clear their names, and bring pride to their families. In “Brides of Allah”, I as a Jewish/Israeli woman, will journey to the reality of the woman on the other side. I will embark on a search for the compassion and understanding that we associate with the nature of women, the same compassion which drove me to embark on this film. I wish to convey to the viewer my attempt to understand how a woman, a mother, is capable of committing such a horrific act. How can she take part in the death of children and babies? How can she leave her own children motherless? What is that motivating power, which is more compelling then the natural maternal desire to protect her children at all cost?

Long Distance

Kadir, Cynthia, Rosemarie and Gener are migrant workers living in Israel, fighting to maintain the relationships with their loved ones back home in the only medium available- the telephone. The film “Long Distance” follows the stories of these intimate relationships through telephone conversations, where the line is dominated not only by our protagonists and their loved ones, but by the great distance, a distance that alters the relationships, and remodels them in the economic reality of the Western world.

Seven Noahide Laws

Rabbi Joel Schwartz, who has written over 20 books on the topic of religious Zionism, explains in detail the roles that non-Jews play in the salvation.

Enraged

A group of Jewish-Israeli activists refuse to sit back while the occupation continues. They bring food into Palestinian villages under curfew, tear down parts of the separation barrier, and serve as human shields for Palestinian demonstrators. In Israel they are ostracized; in Palestine they endure a similar fate to that of the Palestinians. They are beaten, sprayed with tear-gas, and shot at with rubber-coated bullets. One such bullet hits one of the film’s main characters, a 16 year old boy from Tel Aviv, in the head, permanently impairing his eyesight. The heroes of Enraged jolt viewers out of their passivity, forcing them to ask: what can I do to end the occupation?

Enraged, directed by Eyal Eithcowich, premiered at the Haifa International Film Festival, was broadcast many times on Israeli TV, and was screened in festivals and other venues in the U.S. and Europe.

As a Great River Flows

Nir Malchi is a world leading Tai-Chi master, born on a Kibbutz but turned to Judaism to become an ultra-orthodox Jew. He now needs to use his full eastern and western healing powers to fight cancer. In addition, he must find the strength to reconcile with his long lost son.

Achziv – A Place of Love

Eli Avivi, now 77 years old and sick, was once the head of state of “Achzivland”, a coastal refuge for Israel’s bohemia.