Arna's Children

A Fim by Juliano Mer Khamis

Synopsis

Yussef committed a suicide attack in 2001. Ashraf was killed by the Israeli army in 2002. Alla led a group of resistance fighters to his death in 2003. The director, who documented them as promising child actors in a theatre group he founded with his mother Arna, returns to Jenin Refugee Camp in April 2002, to see what happened to the children he knew and loved…

Juliano Mer Khamis is the son of Arna Mer, a Jewish woman, and Saliba Khamis, a Palestinian man. Today, Juliano is one of Israel/Palestine's leading actors. During the first Intifada, his mother Arna established an alternative educational program in Jenin Refugee Camp to compensate for the virtual collapse of the formal one due to the Israeli occupation. Among its activities, was the 'Stone Theatre' - a performance workshop that Juliano directed. Eight years after Arna's death, and five years after the theatre project ended, Juliano returns to the Camp to discover the tragic story of "Arna's children."

Prizes & Awards

IDFA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 2003.
NYON Visions du Reel, Nyon, Switzerland, April, 2004, Special Award and young jury award.
Hot Docs Can.Int. Doc. Festival, Canada, April\May, 2004 Fipresci Prize- Best First Documentary Feature.
Tribeca Film Festival, New York, USA, May, 2004, First Prize- Best Documentary Feature.
Prague One World Festival, Prague, Czech Republic, April, 2004, First Prize.
Dutch Academy, Dutch Academy Award, 2005

Festivals

  • Viennale, Viena, Austria, 2005.
  • INPUT, Barcelona& Rio de Janeiro 2004.
  • Edmonton Int. Film Festival, Edmonton, Canada, October 2004.
  • South Africa's Doc. Film Festival, Cape town\Johannesburg, South Africa, July 2004.
  • Melbourne 53rd Int. Film Festival, Melbourne, Australia, July\August 2004.
  • Discovery Scotland's Int. Film Festival, Dundee, Scotland, September 2004.
  • Mill Valley Film Festival, Mill Valley, USA, October 2004.
  • Bergen Int. Film Festival, Bergen, Norway, October, 2004.
  • Denver Int. Film Festival, Denver-Colorado, USA, October, 2004.
  • All Roads Film Festival National Geographic society, Washington\Los Angeles, USA, October, 2004, Opening night.
  • UK Jewish Film Festival, Brighton, UK, October, 2004, Tour in England.
  • High Falls Film Festival Rochester, New-York, USA, November 2004.
  • Rencontres Int. es du documentair, montreal, Canada, November, 2004.
  • 3 Continents Film Festival, South Africa, October, 2004.
  • One World Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia, 2004.
  • Palestinain Film Festival, UK, 2004, Tour.
  • TEMPO Dokumentarfestival , Stockholm, Sweden, 2005.
  • Singapore Film Festival, Singapore, 2005.
  • Istanbul Film Festival, Istanbul, Turky, 2005.
  • Seattle Film Festival, Seattle, USA 2005

And many more...

Director

Juliano Mer Khamis Is a renowned Israeli actor and theatre director living in Tel Aviv.
International film projects a.o. KEDMA (2002), LA NOCE EN GALILEE (1987), THE LITTLE DRUMMER GIRL (1984).

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Documentary
57 min, 84 min,
Israel, Palestine, The Netherlands

Writers & Directedors

Juliano Mer Khamis and Danniel Danniel

Editor

Obbe Verwer,
Govert Janse

Cinematographers

Juliano Mer Khamis
Hana Abu Saada,
Uri Shteinitz

Sound Designer

Huibert Boon

Languages

Arabic, Hebrew, English

Subtitles

English, Arabic, Hebrew, Itlian, Dutch, French, Spanish.

Broadcasters

IKON

World Sales

First Hand Films,
Esther van Messel.
www.firsthandfilms.com
 
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Yussef committed a suicide attack in Hadera, 2001. Ashraf was killed in the battle of Jenin by the Israeli army. Alla led a fighting troupe. Juliano Mer Khamis knew them since they were small children and documented them from 1989 – 1996 in the theatre group he directed. In April 2002, he returned to the ruins of the camps with his camera…
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