To Die in Jerusalem

"For exploring a major political issue the most personal and deeply felt manner, a Peabody Award goes to Die in Jerusalem"

3 Time Emmy Nominated Film

Ever since 17-year-old Rachel Levy, an Israeli, was killed in Jerusalem by a Palestinian suicide bomber, her mother Abigail has found hardly a moment's peace. Levy's killer was Ayat al-Akhras, also 17, a schoolgirl from a Palestinian refugee camp several miles away. The two young women looked remarkably alike. TO DIE IN JERUSALEM unabashedly explores the Palestinian-Israeli conflict through the personal loss of these two families. The film's most revealing moment is in an emotionally charged meeting between the mothers of the girls, presenting the most current reflection of the conflict as seen through their eyes.

“To Die in Jerusalem” traces the efforts to bring the mothers of the dead girls, who live less than four miles apart, face to face for a meeting that Rachel’s mother, Avigail Levy, said she believed would be cathartic as well as a symbol of hope, a chance to transcend entrenched hatreds. Ultimately, stymied by fears of venturing into enemy territory, cultural differences and the bureaucracies of war, the two meet only by satellite, unable to bridge the physical chasm. The emotional gulf proves equally unfathomable.

At the time of the bombing, Hilla Medalia was living in New York. The story of the girls struck her as a way to show the conflict in a manner that even those who didn’t follow the situation closely could comprehend.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfsUPPJ1D_g

For: Israel, Palestine, Middle-east, Political Science, Conflict Resolution, Woman & Film Studies.

"To Die in Jerusalem is a film about an ancient and enduring conflict embodied by two heart-broken mothers and two lives cut tragically short. It leaves viewers moved and frustrated and anxious for change."--Christianity Today

Awards

George Foster Peabody Award
3 Emmy Nominations: Best Documentary, Outstanding Information Program Long Form, Outstanding Achievement in Craft: Music & Sound
Best Documentary- Fiugi Family Film Festival
Winner- Golden Warsaw Phoenix Award
Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Jewish Motifs Warsaw
Jury Award- Human Rights Film Festival, Paris
Fipa D’Argent Special Prize-Creative Documentary Competition

Festivals

Edinburgh Film Festival
Hamptons Film Festival
Fiugi Family Film Festival
Human Rights Film Festival, Paris
San Sebastian Film Festival
Input TV Holland
Input TV South Africa
San Sebastian Human Rights Festival
Jewish Motifs Warsaw Film Festival
Detroit Jewish Film Festival
Washington Jewish Film Festival
Hong Kong International Film Festival
CF Summer Film Festival
Romania International Film Festival
Docs Barcelona
Toronto Jewish Film Festival
Heartland Film Festival
Rome- Casa de la Cinema
Wind Writer Forum

University and Community Screenings:

Queens Jewish Community Center
Washington University
Duke University Conflict Resolution Department
Southern Illinois University
University of Iowa
St. Louis University
Georgetown University
University of Florida
University of Prague
Colorado Springs
Jewish Community Center of Staten Island
Kimball Theater
Jewish Community Center in Manhattan
Madrid Spain Cinema Verdi
Valencia Spain CinemateqNew York University
Columbia University
New York Film Academy

About the Film

75 Minutes
Arabic, Hebrew, English, English Subtitles

Produced : Hilla Medalia, Ed Priddy, John Priddy
Directed : Hilla Medalia
Written: Hilla Medalia
Music: Issar Shulman
Editors: Geof Bartz ACE, Shlomi Shalom

Screenings

To arrange for a public screening, contact Nahum Laufer below.

Contact

For more information please contact Nahum Laufer.

Email: laufern@netvision.net.il
Fax: 972-3-5291726
Mail: Shlomo Hamelech 93 #5, Tel-Aviv 6451228