Season for Interfaith Celebration FILMS
PRAY THE DEVIL BACK TO HELL
The gripping account of a group of brave women who demanded peace for Liberia, a nation torn to shreds by a decades-long civil war.... Thousands of women — ordinary mothers, grandmothers, aunts and daughters, both Christian and Muslim — came together to pray for peace and then staged a silent protest outside of the Presidential Palace. Armed only with white T-shirts and the courage of their convictions, they demanded a resolution to the country’s civil war. Their actions were a critical element in bringing about a agreement during the stalled peace talks.
A story of sacrifice, unity and transcendence, Pray the Devil Back to Hell honors the strength and perseverance of the women of Liberia. Inspiring, uplifting, and most of all motivating, it is a compelling testimony of how grassroots activism can alter the history of nations.
INSIDE MECCA
National Geographic explores the hajj through the experiences of three pilgrims from very different backgrounds.
DALAI LAMA RENAISSANCE
At the edge of the Millennium, The Dalai Lama of Tibet invited 40 of the Wests leading, most innovative thinkers in their respective fields to his residence tucked away in the Himalayan mountains of Northern India to discuss the worlds problems and how we can solve them. What transpired was unexpected and powerful, and was captured by an 18 person, 5 camera film crew. The Wakan Foundation for the Arts took its 18 person crew to India and shot more than 140 hours of video footage during the week-long meeting and exploration of the future of mankind-- enough gripping and beautiful footage to make a powerful and cinematic documentary. The resulting feature-length documentary, Dalai Lama Renaissance, has already received a very positive response, and will be widely released and distributed in the second half of 2008. Dalai Lama Renaissance is narrated by actor Harrison Ford.
“FAITH AND DOUBT AT GROUND ZERO”a Frontline film
What did America see on 9/11? And how did it affect our notions of God, of evil, and the potential for darkness within religion itself?
TRACES OF THE TRADE
The story of the largest slave trading family in the U.S. as their descendants deal with questions that apply to all of us. What is the legacy of slavery? Who owes who what for the sins of the fathers of this country?
MEETING DAVID WILSON
A 28 yr old African-American journalist journeys exploring Americia’s racial divide meets another David Wilson, a descendant on the white side of his family then explores his African roots.
THE RENEWAL PROJECT
Across the nation people of faith are standing up for the environment. Learn what is being done and what you can do! Christian, Jewish, Buddhist and Muslim traditions are courageously becoming caretakers of the Earth. 90 minute documentary shows 8 stories.
DOING TIME, DOING VIPASSANA
What difference does inner peace make in a person’s life? How can we find it? Is it possible for a meditation practice to shift the minds and hearts of even hard core prisoners?
Winner of the Golden Spire Award at the 1998 San Francisco International Film Festival, this extraordinary documentary takes viewers into India's largest prison - known as one of the toughest in the world - and shows the dramatic change brought about by the introduction of Vipassana meditation. In giving Doing Time, Doing Vipassana its top honour, the jury stated that: "it was moved by this insightful and poignant exposition on Vipassana. The teaching of this meditation as a transformation device has many implications for people everywhere, providing the cultural, social and political institutions can embrace and support its liberating possibility."
THE AWAKENING UNIVERSE, Pachamama Films
In a mere fifteen minutes, Neal Rogin uses awe-inspiring images and a sweeping original musical score to show how science, spirit and ancient indigenous wisdom are now all converging to reveal that we stand in the very heart of that which created us. An entirely new context for human life is arising in our lifetime, with the ppotential to transform forever our sense of separation, isolation, and alienation into one of connection, commonality and communion.
THE SHAPE OF THE FUTURE
A documentary series that explores what an eventual Palestinian-Israeli peace settlement might look like. Includes the music video of the theme song "In My Heart." Produced in 2005. Aired on Israeli, Palestinian and Arab satellite TV.
Available in Hebrew, Arabic and English-subtitled versions. The Hebrew and Arabic versions comprise four 25-minute segments; the English version comprises two 50-minute segments.
The Shape of the Future is available only as a complete series. The cost is $20.00 for all versions and formats, excluding shipping costs.
AFRICA: SEARCH FOR COMMON GROUND
A documentary series told by local people that examines conflicts across the continent and how they are being resolved in nonviolent ways. Produced in 1998. Aired throughout Africa.
Available in English, French and Portuguese-narrated versions. The English version comprises eight 30-minute segments; the French and Portuguese
versions comprise thirteen 30-minute segments. For detailed descriptions of each segment.
The cost of this series is $15.00 per segment on DVD and $10.00 per segment on VHS.
THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF THE CHRIST: RECLAIMING JESUS FOR A NEW HUMANITY
Commentary by Andrew Harvey, Barbara Marx Hubbard, Gladys T. McGarey, Marianne Williamson. Written and narrated by Kell Kearns. This nationally acclaimed feature length documentary with dramatic elements tells anew the story of Jesus from the perspective of the world transforming power of love about which he showed his generation and ours. Filmed on location in Israel, Palestine.
ONE: THE MOVIE
One explores the deep connections which underlie the conflicts between
religious groups. Differences and some fears are exposed along the way, but
the thrust of the film is Oneness. Invitations have been sent out to local
representatives of many of the religious traditions reflected in the film.
Film contributors include Ram Dass, His Holiness, The Dalai Lama (via
recording), Sufi mystic Llewellyn Vaughn-Lee, Taoist Master Mantak Chia,
Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hahn, Deepak Chopra, Barbara Marx
Hubbard, Robert Thurman, Father Thomas Keating, Imam Sayed Hassan Al-Qazwini,
Riane Eisler and many more. We will have about one hour for discussion after
the 80 minute screening.
SAMSARA
The nonverbal and meditative Samsara (meaning “continuous flow” in Tibetan) captures sacred sites around the world. Filmed over five years and in 25 different countries, this sensuously shot film also shows the variety of international human belief systems through manmade and natural wonders.
NASHE MAALO
The first Macedonian children's television program created to promote intercultural understanding and to impart conflict resolution skills pertinent to children's everyday lives. Produced in 1999-2004. Aired on Macedonian TV for five seasons.
Available in Macedonian, Albanian and English-subtitled versions. Each episode is 30 minutes long. For detailed descriptions of each episode. The cost of this series is $15.00 per episode on DVD and $10.00 per episode on VHS.
GIMME6
A curriculum-based children's television program focusing on relationship building and problem solving among Cypriot youth. Produced in 2001. Aired in Cyprus. Available in English, Greek and Turkish-subtitled versions. Each episode is 30 minutes long. For detailed descriptions of each episode.
The cost of this series is $15.00 per episode on DVD and $10.00 per episode on VHS.
ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE
Deep inside a cave a group of prisoners are chained to a wall since their childhood. Not only are their limbs immobilized by the chains but their heads are also chained so that their eyes are fixed on a wall and can only see the shadows that are projected in front of them. These shadows are what they believe is the truth. However, when one of the prisoners escapes the cave, a new truth is revealed.
Saudi Filmmaker Fahmi Farouk Farahat uses his unique style to create a visual interpretation of Plato's masterpiece and perhaps the best known of his work, Allegory of the Cave from the book, The Republic.
The DVD includes a documentary with Dr. Claiton Kardajan, Professor of Philosophy, that further explores the Allegory of the Cave and helps us understand the meaning and importance of this great work by Plato and how it relates to our modern day politics, religions and social structure.
Newport Beach Film Festival 2007; Los Angeles International Short Film Festival 2006DVD Details: Documentary/Short Film - 22 Minutes/6 minutes - NTSC - English – Full Screen - Not Rated - Plays in all Regions.
SADAQA
This documentary film follows a group of Muslims after 9/11 in their mission to fulfill a religious belief... Sadaqa. The film gives us an in-depth look at one of the lesser known, but important, foundations of Islam. It makes a comparison to Christianity and Judaism and confronts the challenges the Muslim community faced after 9/11 in their practice of Sadaqa.
Scholars feature include Father Will Crist, Imam Sadulla Khan, Imam Sayed Moustafa Al-Qazwini, Rabbi Arnold Rachlis and Imam Sadiq Safir.
To RSVP please contact: az@zahrapictures.com or call (714) 999-1015
Dvd Details: Documentary - DVD - 45 Minutes - NTSC - Color - Stereo - English - Full Screen - Not Rated - Plays in all Regions.
TRANSPARENCY
"Dialogue Provoking and insightful..."
“Judaism, Christianity and Islam all have this strain in
their religion; a woman is seen as a temptress…you cover her up totally so she has no other attribute except her femaleness and sex...
This award winning documentary examines one of the more controversial issues in Islam today, the Hijab - the Islamic dress code for women. It answers a fundamental question: Is the Hijab a form of oppression or a woman’s expression of faith? Through sharing their views and personal experiences, several Muslim Women living in the United States help us understand the various attitudes towards the Hijab and the compelling arguments of the underlying issues from morality, modesty and faith to oppression and a woman’s right to choose.
One story involves Merve Kavakci, the first veiled woman to become a member of the Turkish Parliament and her political struggle to maintain her belief and identity in a secular political system.
Dvd Details:Documentary - DVD - 30 Minutes - NTSC - Color - Stereo - English Closed Captioned - Full Screen Format - Plays in all Regions.
BEYOND THE FENCE
In a small American town during the Iranian Hostage Crisis, three twelve-year-old American kids face their fears of an old Middle Eastern farmer by venturing into his forbidden barn. They must unlock the truth about their missing classmate and determine whether or not this man is the monster the town has made him out to be.
This coming of age story explores the effects of negative stereotyping of ethnic groups on young children during extreme political events.
Directed by Fahmi Farouk Farahat
Produced by Josh Todd & Sarah Akkari
Starring: Jonathan Decker, Lyndze Duke, Justin Marco & Ismail Abou Kanater
The film is also available on DVD with extra features including interviews with the filmmakers. OFFICIAL SELECTION: Los Angeles International Short Film Festival 2006, Newport Beach Film Festival, Official Selection 2007
AMERICAN EAST
A timely, poignant feature drama about Arab-Americans living in post-9/11 Los Angeles. The story examines long-held misunderstandings about Arabic and Islamic culture, and highlights the pressures under which many Arab-Americans now live by focusing on the points-of-view of three main characters.
Directed by: HESHAM ISSAWI; Produced by: AHMAD ZAHRA, ANANT SINGH and BRIAN COX, Screenplay by: HESHAM ISSAWI & SAYED BADREYA and BRIAN COX
Sayed Badreya; Tony Shalhoub (Monk); Kais Nashef (Paradise Now); and Sarah Shahi (L-Word)
Official Selection Hamptons International Film Festival, NY 2007; Dubai International Film Festival, UAE 2007; Cairo International Film Festival, Egypt 2007
FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO
Can the love between two people ever be an abomination? Is the chasm separating gays and lesbians and Christianity too wide to cross? Is the Bible an excuse to hate?
Through the experiences of five very normal, very Christian, very American families -- including those of former House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt and Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson -- we discover how insightful people of faith handle the realization of having a gay child. Informed by such respected voices as Bishop Desmond Tutu, Harvard's Peter Gomes, Orthodox Rabbi Steve Greenberg and Reverend Jimmy Creech, FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO offers healing, clarity and understanding to anyone caught in the crosshairs of scripture and sexual identity.
Director - Daniel Karslake; Run Time - 99 minutes; Language – English; Format - Video, color ; Year – 2007; Genre – Documentary
THE COMING OF THE DIVINE CHILD OF HUMANKIND
Learn radical self trust in a trustworthy universe by awakening the divine child within you. Kell deepens the themes he developed in The Consciousness of The Christ and speaks directly to a generation on the inner birth of The New Humanity.
ENCOUNTER POINT
An 85-minute feature documentary film that follows a former Israeli settler, a Palestinian ex-prisoner, a bereaved Israeli mother and a wounded Palestinian bereaved brother who risk their lives and public standing to promote a nonviolent end to the conflict. Their journeys lead them to the unlikeliest places to confront hatred within their communities. The film explores what drives them and thousands of other like-minded civilians to overcome anger and grief to work for grassroots solutions. It is a film about the everyday leaders in our midst.
For 2 years, the Just Vision crew followed the stories of ordinary people who feel driven to work for an end to bloodshed and occupation in favor of peace. We traveled from Tel Mond to Tulkarem, from Hebron to Haifa documenting the courageous, painful and moving stories of regular people who refuse to sit back as the conflict escalates. These civic leaders navigate suicide bombings and checkpoints to confront militancy on both sides, the wounded and apathetic masses.
Encounter Point's Israeli/Palestinian/North American/ Brazilian production team of young women includes: director & producer Ronit Avni (formerly of WITNESS), co-director Julia Bacha (co-writer/editor of the award-winning documentary, Control Room), producers Nahanni Rous and Joline Makhlouf, the first Palestinian female pilot. Encounter Point was edited in Jerusalem and Park Slope, Brooklyn, and features original music by Kareem Roustom, who combines classical Arabic melodies and instruments with traditional Jewish Klezmer to form a harmonious fusion that mirrors the subject matter.
Encounter Point's World Premiere was at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. The Canadian premiere was at Hot Docs, and the West Coast premiere was at the San Francisco International Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award for Best Documentary. Encounter Point has subsequently won the 2006 Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Rencontres Film Festival in Montreal, the Best Musical Score Award at the Bend Film Festival and the 2006 Spirit of Freedom Award at the Bahamas Film Festival. It has screened in Dubai, Jerusalem, Jenin, Gaza, Ramallah, Amman, Sderot and more than 150 cities worldwide. It recently appeared on CBC in Canada as well as on Al Arabiya, one of the largest Arabic satellite stations in the world.
For DVD inquiries, contact: dvd@justvision.org ; For screening inquiries, contact: screenings@justvision.org ; JUST VISION Tel.: (866) 809-3401
PAPER CLIPS
Whitwell, TN is a small, rural community of less than two thousand people nestled in the mountains of Tennessee. Its citizens are almost exclusively white and Christian. In 1998, the children of Whitwell Middle School took on an inspiring project, launched out of their principal's desire to help her students open their eyes to the diversity of the world beyond their insulated valley. What happened would change the students, their teachers, their families and the entire town forever… and eventually open hearts and minds around the world.
PAPER CLIPS, presented by One Clip At A Time HMA, is a production of The Johnson Group, in association with Miramax Films and Ergo Entertainment. It was named one of the top films of 2004 (documentary) by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, has been acclaimed by critics as "Oscar caliber" (Joel Siegel, Good Morning America), and has received audience and jury awards at film festivals across the country.
FORGIVENESS
The story of one man's quest for absolution amid a people destroyed by the weight of his sins, Forgiveness shows that a country heals one person, one family at a time. His quest poses a challenge to us all: Can South Africa's road to reconciliation not also be traveled by others?
Do we not have the courage to confront our violent past, to not turn away in denial, so we may begin to heal?
Synopsis
Granted amnesty for crimes committed in the past, South African ex-cop Tertius Coetzee (Arnold Vosloo) still feels shackled by the weight of his sins. His unrelenting quest for closure plunges the family of one of his victims into a furnace of personal emotion. Inclined at first to drive Coetzee away, the family becomes involved in a plot to keep him in the town to avenge the death of their son, triggering the road-trip of three friends intent on revenge. Truth Commissioner Dr. Faizal Randera suggests "If we cannot understand what made people think and do what they did, these conflicts will arise again within our society." In storing up hatred and choosing revenge we deny not only the humanity of the perpetrator, we stunt our own humanity as well.
On April 9, 1948, a Jewish militia entered the Palestinian village of Deir Yassin and killed over 100 villagers.
Soon after, a mental hospital was built on the ruins. The first patients to be committed were Holocaust survivors.
A legend says that to this day, the survivors have been communicating with the ghosts of the village.
FORGIVENESS (MECHILOT)
tells the story of David Adler, a 20-year old American-Israeli who decides to move back to Israel, only to find himself committed to a mental institution that sits on the ruins of a Palestinian village called Deir Yassin.
Flashbacks and flashforwards reveal the events that led up to his hospitalization. A 10-year old female ghost holds the secret to the riddle. But only when the secret is revealed can she find rest and give David the option to end a perpetually-repeated destiny...
RENEWAL
"Renewal" is a documentary by Marty Ostrow and Terry Kay Rockefeller that opened at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston on Saturday, June 21. The film, which runs 90 minutes, traces the rise in environmental activism among religious communities throughout America.
RUMI RETURNING
“RUMI RETURNING” was made with the intention of building a bridge of understanding between the East and West toward mutual respect, compassion, and justice. At a time when conflict, destruction, and depletion seem to scream out to us from every outlet of our media as if to keep us down, we offer soaring beauty and inspiration. With its never-before seen, high-definition images of Rumi’s world in Turkey and its never-before heard insightful story of his life, “RUMI RETURNING” is a way of celebrating both our amazing diversity and our blessed similarity. In our telling, we highlight his complete rootedness in Islam and at the same time the flowering of his tolerance for other faiths.
THE LEADERSHIP OF LOVE
Are you hearing the spiritual wake-up call to take the next step to transform our world? Are you feeling a passion to expand your vision of Peace into sacred activism? Based upon her own personal and political experiences and drawing inspiration from sacred texts, Cynthia shows examples from around the world (Africa, India, South America, U.S.) of the emerging collective leader, who is each of us, all of us, joining hands as global citizens.
THE GATEKEEPERS
The Gatekeepers is a 2012 documentary film by director Dror Moreh that tells the story of the Israeli Shin Bet from the perspective of six former heads of Israel’s secretive internal security service.