Death of an Idealist

Agenda Item: Erasure(he)

Seven political activists from Israel come together in a theater in Tel Aviv and read from the transcripts of government meetings dating back to 1948, which had been classified until recently.

The Guide for the Perplexed(he)

Director Yigal Bursztyn’s made-for-TV road movie takes viewers on a contemporary journey in which he traces the gospel and teachings of Jewish philosopher, Maimonides (aka the Rambam). Burszstyn goes from the Spanish city of Cordoba to Fes in Morocco, then onwards to Egypt and finally, Israel. In the course of this physical, geographical journey, Bursztyn also does a deep dive into Maimonides’s 12th century canonical work, The Guide for the Perplexed, which he uses as a tool to interpret present-day events and the conflicts between faith and rationale, and between religion, culture, and gender.

Free Fish(en)

Free Fish is a short documentary filmed over the course of a year in Gaza, following two brothers — Abu Nagham and Ahmad — separated by war yet connected by the sea. Displaced from their home, Abu Nagham now lives in a tent in the south, fishing with his young nephew Rami, who lost his twin brother. Ahmad remains in the north, fishing amid ruins and occupation. Once a source of livelihood and freedom, the sea has become a battleground — heavily restricted, constantly watched, and always dangerous. Through intimate footage and poetic observation, the film captures the everyday courage required to cast a net, mend a line, or share a meal. Fishing becomes an act of survival, resistance, and hope. Co-directed by Bisan Owda (Peabody Award 2024) and Carolina Pereira, Free Fish offers a deeply personal and universal story of resilience in the face of erasure — a quiet tribute to a people who refuse to be forgotten.

Parole de citoyens - Immersion en Israël(fr)

Breaking Ranks: Inside Israel's War(en)

Breaking Ranks: Inside Israel’s War presents the first-hand recollections of IDF soldiers who have broken official silence to share their experiences of the war in Gaza - accounts that may raise serious questions about conduct on the ground and potential breaches of international law. Directed by award-winning filmmaker Ben Zand, the film features exclusive interviews with Israel Defense Forces (IDF), reservists and veterans - many speaking for the first time - who served during the war in Gaza. Their testimonies describe what they recall as indiscriminate bombardment, instances where Palestinian civilians were used as human shields, and an operational culture that some soldiers characterised as “no innocents in Gaza.”

Sharon(he)

A look at the work of Israel's controversial former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

Menachem Begin: Peace and War(he)

In his abbreviated one and a half terms as Prime Minister of Israel, Menachem Begin faced a maelstrom of challenges and made a handful of fateful decisions that led to both creating peace and launching a hubristic war. This multi-faceted portrait merges rare archival footage shown for the first time, as well as current interviews of key figures from Begin’s time as Prime Minister.

Me BaEsh VeMe BaHerev(he)

Walls of Silence(ko)

Mexico─United States border bar, “Trump Wall” is full of displaced migrants’ grief. Gaston who came to America as a teenager, is expelled from the States at his 40s and meets his family at the Wall. Bassam and Rami, becomes a dad who lost their daughter by each other. This film describes the people who lost their family by the wall and includes the views of refugees, human rights. Actor Jung Woo Sung participated in narration of the film.

The First 54 Years: An Abbreviated Manual for Military Occupation(he)

An exhaustive explanation of how the military occupation of an invaded territory occurs and its consequences, using as a paradigmatic example the recent history of Israel and the Palestinian territories, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, from 1967, when the Six-Day War took place, to the present day; an account by filmmaker Avi Mograbi enriched by the testimonies of Israeli army veterans.

Netanyahu at War(en)

The inside story of the bitter clash between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. Amid violence in the Middle East, the film traces Netanyahu's rise to power and his high-stakes fight with the president over Iran's nuclear program.

Roots of Resistance(en)

Olive trees have been a key element of life for populations in Palestinian land for generations. Since the creation of the state of Israel, historical inhabitants and trees face the uproot of their lives and culture. This documentary shows popular struggles in occupied Cisjordan through the testimonies of Palestinian families and the activists that protect them during olive harvest.

Gaza: The Killing Zone(en)

While the world’s attention has been fixed on the war in Iraq, Dispatches reporter Sandra Jordan and producer Rodrigo Vasquez risk their lives to reveal the shocking level of daily violence and murderous hate in the Gaza Strip.

Exile: A Myth Unearthed(en)

This feature documentary looks at new evidence that suggests the majority of the Jewish people may not have been exiled following the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Travelling from Galilee to Jerusalem and the catacombs of Rome, the film asks us to rethink our ideas about an event that has played a critical role in the Christian and Jewish traditions.

One Day in Gaza(en)

How mass protests on the Israel-Gaza border led to one of the deadliest days in a generation. One year later, a moment-by-moment investigation, drawing on exclusive interviews in Gaza and Israel and videos of the protests and bloodshed.

Palestine 1920: The Other Side of the Palestinian Story(ar)

“A land without a people, and a people without a land” is how the relationship between Palestine and the Jewish people was described by Christian writers in the 1800s. And the 20th-century history of the Middle East has largely been written through these eyes. But this film from Al Jazeera Arabic looks at Palestine from a different angle. It hears from historians and witness accounts, and features archive documents that show Palestine as a thriving province of Greater Syria and the Ottoman Empire at the dawn of the 20th century. The evidence suggests that its cities had a developing trade and commercial sector, growing infrastructure, and embryonic culture that would enable it to meet the challenges of the decades ahead. This film is the other side of the Palestinian story.

The Shadow of the West(en)

Edward Said, Professor of English & Comparative Literature at Columbia University, was one of the most prominent literary critics of the late 20th century and a leading spokesperson for the Palestinian cause in the US. In this episode, Said examines Western attitudes to the Arabs and finds their origins in the Crusades, Hollywood and European empire building. He sees the Palestinian fate as the result of years of Western interference. One of the ten episodes of The Arabs: A Living History.

For the Palestinians(de)

The film provides a historical overview of the history of the Palestinians between 1948-1974 and shows the living conditions of Palestinians in territories occupied by Israel since 1967.

Shadow World(en)

A detailed investigation into the political and economic interests that, since the beginning of the 20th century, have pulled the strings of the arms trade, hidden in the shadows, feeding the shameful corruption of politicians and government officials and promoting a state of permanent war throughout the world, while they cynically asked for a lasting and universal peace.

Holot Nodedim(he)

The film deals with the rare connection between two communities that, without the capricious fate that dictates the Israeli agenda, might never have met. It is an encounter and connection that Israeli society has not yet experienced. It is a film about people who, instead of losing hope, splitting up, separating, and dying as a community, chose to smooth over differences and seek common ground rather than division. It is a record of a 10-year journey. A journey of connection between people.