Encounter Point
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Contents |
[edit] Encounter Point
The acclaimed, award winning, documentary film, Encounter Point, depicts families that have been affected by the violence between the Israelis and the Palestinians in Israel. The directors of the film followed around these people, who had lost their loved ones, for 16 months. These parents and loved ones have all been trying to end the violence by joining or starting their own peace organizations and awareness campaigns. One such mother that we are introduced to early on in the film is Robi Damelin. Robi’s son David was a soldier in the Israeli army who had been shot by a sniper while he was working at a checkpoint. The soldiers had been sent to protect an Israeli settlement that was on Palestinian territory. After learning of her son's loss, Robi joined the Bereaved Families Forum where she was able to meet other Palestinian and Israeli families that had gone through the same grievances. There she worked closely with the families from different backgrounds and began to advocate peace between the Palestinians and Israelis. She continues to work for an end to the conflict.
Ali Abu Awwad is another individual in the film who is followed by the production team to see his stance on the non-violence attempts. After being shot in his lower body by an Israeli settler he was sent to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment. While healing in Saudi Arabia, Ali’s brother Yusef had been murdered by an Israeli militant. After the news of his brother's murder Ali Abu Awwadhe teamed up with the Bereaved Families Forum to work with Israelis and Palestinians who together campaign for non-violence and settlement. By speaking with Palestinian militants and those who are threatened by Israeli settlers Ali is able to broaden his message of nonviolence resistance throughout the Palestinian territories.
Shlomo Zagman, who grew up in an Israeli settlement most of his life is another intriguing character in the documentary Encounter Point. Along with the settlers from his home town, Shlomo, and by in large all Israeli settlers, are extremists that believe that all the Palestinians should be deported to the neighboring Arab countries(Israeli Settlement). The movie illuminates this point as we see how Shlomo and his wife transform, despite the meandering resistance of his parents and home town, to become founding members of the Realistic Religious Zionism group [[1].This transformation is a huge step, and usually unheard of, for someone who grew up in the settlements. Subsequently, Shlomo tries to encourage the people of his hometown, as well as other settlements, to withdraw from these occupied territories and convince them that the persistence of these settlements will bring down the entire Jewish State of Israel. Encounter point follows this former Israeli settler who risks his life and public standing sequentially to promote a peaceful end to this clash.
Ano. George then joined the Bereaved Families Forum, 3 months after her death, like many of the others in the film. There he met Israelis and Palestinians who had gone through the same losses and were ready to fight for peace on top of their pain. In an interview George has said that he received an apology from the soldiers that had begun the shooting. In the same interview he is quoted as saying “We also call for peace that is just and real where there will be no Palestinian or Israeli family that has to go through the same thing we did. Our goal now is to try as much as we can through our love and forgiveness to carry on with our lives and help others not to go through what we went through.” [[2]] George was a principle of a high school in Bethlehem, but after the shooting he became the deputy mayor of Jerusalem.
[edit] Making of the Film
Ronit Avni and Julia Bacha worked together to co-direct this film. Avni founded a non for profit organization that helps to promote peace between Israelis and Palestinians called Just Vision. She has worked with other organizations in other countries to advocate peace as well. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Vassar College. She was on the Oprah Winfrey Show in 2005.
Bacha co wrote the famous Control Room, which was a movie about the coverage of the Iraq war, on the television channels of Al Jazeera. Bacha studied at Columbia University and graduated Magna Cum Laude. She has made numerous speeches around the world advocating peace.
[edit] Awards and Acknowledgments
Encounter Point has won various awards in several countries. Encounter Point was the Audience Award winner for best documentary film in 2006 at the San Francisco International Film Festival, won the best Musical Score in the 2006 Bend Film Festival, was the 2006 Rencontres Film Festival’s Audience Award winner for Best Documentary Film and won the 2006 Spirit of Freedom Award in the Bahamas International Film Festival. This film was also apart of the Official Selection in the Jerusalem Film Festival, the Dubai Film Festival and the Tribeca Film Festival. Encounter Point will also be screened at the Boston Independent film festival on April 29th [3]], the Harrisburg film festivlal in PA on May the 5th [[4]] and will also be screened at the Swansea Bay film festival [[5]] to name a few.
[edit] Inquiries of Encounter Point
DVD inquiries, contact: dvd@justvision.org
For screening inquiries, contact: screenings@justvision.org
Or you can call: JUST VISION Toll Free Telephone: (866)809-3401
Further more, Encounter Point will be available in the next four months (the exact date is not known as of yet) via Netflix and other various retailors.
[edit] Additional Sites
 |
This article is uncategorized.
Please help improve this article by adding it to one or more categories, so it may be associated with related articles (how?). Please remove this tag after categorizing, but not before. |
