news

October 8 - 14: RACHEL screening at Anthology Film Archives in New York, NY

Rachel, the controversial documentary from award-winning filmmaker Simone Bitton and distributed by Women Make Movies, will screen at Anthology Film Archives from October 8-14.

Rachel is a startlingly rigorous, fascinating and deeply moving investigatory documentary that examines the death of American peace activist and International Solidarity Movement (ISM) member Rachel Corrie, who was crushed by an Israeli army bulldozer in the Gaza Strip in 2003. A few weeks after her little-reported death, an inquiry by Israeli military police concluded that Corrie died in an accident. Simone Bitton (Wall), an award-winning documentary filmmaker who is a citizen of both France and Israel, has crafted a dispassionate but devastating essay investigating the circumstances of Rachel Corrie’s death. The region, already torn apart by decades of conflict, is divided on who is responsible for Rachel’s death. The film begins like a classic documentary, but soon develops, transcending its subject and establishing a candid new visual approach for bearing witness. With understated cinematic techniques, Bitton captures the spirit of Rachel’s youth, idealism, and political commitment amidst sweeping landscapes of Gaza and a portrait of daily life in an atmosphere of military aggression.

Simone Bitton’s films have won numerous awards, including the Sundance Film Festival, Special Jury Prize and the Cesear Award for Wall, among many others.

The film and its subject have already sparked debate, with protests at the 2009 San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, which brought Corrie’s mother to speak on a panel, as well as condemnations in Jewish newspapers.

Anthology Film Archives
32 Second Avenue
New York, NY 10003

For information on purchasing tickets to the Rachel screenings at Anthology, click here. To view clips from the film, click here.

Starts	October 8 2010
Ends / Deadline	October 14 2010
Homepage	http://anthologyfilmarchives.org/film_screenings/buy-tickets
Contact	apeck@wmm.com
Issues	Human Rights, International, Middle East, Media, Fair Representation, Politics/Government, Peace/War, Racial Justice, Arab-American, Jewish, Religious Freedom