Received via e-mail:
Hello everyone,
Please find attached an announcement for films that will be shown at the Balsillie School for International Affairs this week in classroom 1-42.
Both films are by filmmaker Amit Breuer, who will be attending the second of the viewings. I will facilitate a discussion following each of the films.
If you’re interested in documentary filmmaking and the Israel-Palestine conflict, feel free to attend. Both events are free and open to the university community.
With all the very best,
Jasmin
Balsillie School for International Affairs (BSIA) presents:
Open to students, faculty, and the university community
Exile: A Myth Unearthed
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
7:30 pm to 9:30 pm in BSIA Classroom 1-42
Discussion following film facilitated by Jasmin Habib (University of Waterloo)
NFB + Amythos Description: The exile of the Jews following the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD has played a central role in the Christian and Jewish traditions. But what if it never happened? That is one of the provocative questions raised by Exile: A Myth Unearthed. The film travels from Sepphoris to Masada, Jerusalem, and the catacombs of Rome, featuring interviews with leading historians and archaeologists. Throughout, we also return to a group of tourists who hear the traditional interpretation of events such as the siege of Masada – an interpretation which stands in sharp contrast to recent evidence. The issues raised in Exile are of more than passing historical interest. The possibility that many Jews – such as those of Sepphoris – simply remained where they lived raises uncomfortable questions. Re-thinking exile might overturn long-held historical and cultural ideas. But it may also point to a richer, more diverse past than we had ever imagined. [Amit Breuer (Amythos Media), Serge Gordey & Christine Camdessus (Alegria Productions), Colette Loumède (National Film Board of Canada), Ilan Ziv (TAMI)]
Checkpoint
with Introduction by Amit Breuer (Amythos Films)
Thursday, June 18, 2015 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm in BSIA Classroom 1-42
Q+A following the film facilitated by Jasmin Habib
AMYTHOS Description: The West Bank and Gaza Strip have been under Israeli Military authority since 1967. Over three million Palestinians live under Israeli occupation. When travelling from one village or city to another to go to work, to visit relatives, or to get medical treatment, they must pass through Israeli checkpoints. These checkpoints, essentially the first points of contact between the two people, have an enormous significance in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Amit Breuer (Amythos Media), Edna & Elinor Kowarsky (Eden Productions).
Awards include: VPRO Joris Ivens Award, 2003, IDFA, The Netherlands; Best International Documentary Feature Award, 2004, Hot Docs, Canadian International Documentary Festival, Toronto; The Golden Gate Award, 2004, San Francisco Int’l Film Festival, USA; Special Documentary Award, 2004, DOKFEST Munich Documentary Festival, Germany; Cinematography Award, 2004, Tel Aviv Int’l Documentary Film Festival, Israel; Special Jury Mention, 2004, First Prize for Innovative Photography; Documentary Madrid, Spain; Best Documentary Award, 2004, Newport International Film Festival, USA; Best Documentary Award, 2004, Calgary International Film Festival, Canada; Best Documentary Award, 2004, Docupolis Festival, Barcelona, Spain; Winner of The Golden Rib Award, 2004, Zagreb Int’l Film Festival, Croatia; European Film Academy Documentary PRIX ARTE Award (2004).
These films form a part of the workshop on “Israeli Emigres, Human Rights, and the Israel-Palestine Conflict” organised by Jasmin Habib, University of Waterloo and Rhoda Howard Hassman, Canada Research Chair, Human Rights, Wilfrid Laurier University and sponsored by the Balsillie School for International Affairs.