Festival Films A-Z

Galil - A School With No Walls

Production

Sharon Hammou + Avi Hershkovitz
47 Bd Poniatowski
75012 Paris
Frankreich
Tel.: +33 1 43 07 18 69
Fax: +33 1 43 07 18 69
E-Mail: Sharon.h@free.fr

Camera

Sharon Hammou, Avi Hershkovitz

Cut

Gilles Dinnematin

(Galil - Beit Sefer Lelo Homot)
IL/F 2006, Regie: Sharon Hammou, Avi Hershkovitz, OmU, 72 min.

Synopsis

Galil - Beit Sefer Lelo Homot In Galilee, one of Israel's most ethnically diverse regions, 200 children aged 6 to 14 (Muslims, Jews and Christians) study at the Galil School, the first bilingual Jewish-Arabic school in Israel. Each class is half Jewish and half Arabic with two teachers teaching in both Hebrew and Arabic, encouraging students to openly discuss their entangled cultures.
Their school is part of a Jewish community that has been built on formerly Arabic territory, thus it is a symbol for the relationship of the two peoples, which is overshadowed by a complicated past. The documentary does not shy away from exposing the tension and the hostilities that arise between Arabic and Jewish parents and teachers. Even though they demonstrate their interest in non-violent change by sending their kids to the Galil, their behavior demonstrates how difficult the social interaction between Arabic and Jewish Israelis still is. This is why they focus their hope all the more on the coming generation and on a future in which their children may live together, united and just.
Refraining from commentary and palliation, the film succeeds in showing the potential and the significance of the school, which is a symbol of the hope for a peaceful future in Israel.

Biography

Avi Hershkovitz: Fantasy - Another Country (1999), Arabesques (2002), Reality Show (2004)

Sharon Hammou: La vie secrète des objets trouvés (2000), Réfugiés (2003), Reality Show (2004)

Filmography