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Arna's Children (2004)

57/84 min  |   Documentary  | 

Hebrew and Arabic

CREW

Written & Directed by: Juliano Mer Khamis and Danniel Danniel

Producer: Osnat Trabelsi

Director of Photography: Juliano Mer Khamis, Hana Abu Saada and Uri Shteinitz

Editors: Obbe Verwer and Govert Janse

Sound Designer: Huibert Boon

Broadcasters: IKON

World Sales: First Hand Films

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, returned 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."

Awards

IDFA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 2003

Special Award and young jury award - NYON Visions du Reel, Nyon, Switzerland,  2004

Fipresci Prize- Best First Documentary Feature- Hot Docs Can.Int. Doc. Festival, 2004

First Prize- Best Documentary Feature- Tribeca Film Festival, New York, USA, May, 2004

First Prize- Prague One World Festival, Prague, Czech Republic, April, 2004

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 townJohannesburg, South Africa, July 2004

Melbourne 53rd Int. Film Festival, Melbourne, Australia, JulyAugust 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, WashingtonLos 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

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 I

stanbul Film Festival, Istanbul, Turky, 2005

Seattle Film Festival, Seattle, USA 2005

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