Budrus. You may have seen it yourself or read of this award winning documentary about a Palestinian community organizer, Ayed Morrar, who unites local Fatah and Hamas members along with Israeli supporters in an unarmed movement to save his village of Budrus from destruction by Israel’s Separation Barrier.
I don’t want to give away the ending, but let’s just say that the point of the film and the work of the organization that produced it, Just Vision, is to engage audiences everywhere with Palestinians and Israelis working together in nonviolent ways for a peaceful and equitable resolution of the conflict.
One of the things that captivated me about Budrus is watching the coming of age of Ayed’s 15-year-old daughter, Iltezam. At a critical moment in the movement, she launches a women’s contingent that quickly moves to the front lines. The women of Budrus demonstrate a different – and more effective – way to act to the men of the village and flummox the Israeli soldiers. Now, in other Palestinian villages and towns, the lessons of Budrus are being shared with women as they are trained and organized to participate in nonviolent demonstrations to protect their homes and fields.
Budrus has been hailed by the New York Times as “this year’s must-see documentary.” The film has won numerous international awards and has been recently reviewed and covered by Newsweek, The Economist, The Diane Rehm Show, and multiple other national and international news outlets. For its sold-out premiere in Ramallah, which was attended by more than 700 people, Queen Noor of Jordan made her first-ever trip to the West Bank solely to support the film and its message.
After seeing the film, I offered to volunteer at Just Vision as they reach out to a wide range of influential figures and communities in order to ensure the film is seen and covered in the press as well as incorporated into community and educational programming. Next spring it will be released on DVD. Until then, Just Vision is concentrating on bringing the film to theaters across the US to get the highest possible exposure across the country. New events are being added regularly on their website at justvision.org.
Attention New Yorkers and LA folks:
Screening: New York (October 8-21) and LA (October 22-29) openings in particular.
