Thursday, October 27, 2005, 6pm
Yulie Cohen Gerstel in person!
A sixth generation Israeli, Yulie Cohen Gerstel has been directing and producing poignant documentaries over the span of three decades and is the Head of the Forum of Israeli Documentary Filmmakers. In this courageous and provocative personal essay Gerstel challenges the myths of Zionism and questions her own decision to return and raise her family in war-torn Israel, after working in film in the US in the 1980’s. With rare candor and emotional complexity, Gerstel goes straight to the heart of Israeli national identity, and her probing spares no one. As she wonders about the future that awaits her daughters in a country embroiled in continuous war, she stretches a connecting thread from the murder of Jews in the Holocaust to the War of Independence to the rise in settlements and the condition of Palestinian refugees in Israel today. Compelling and confrontational, My Land Zion is an example of personal documentary at its best and demonstrates an unflinching commitment to life, morality, justice and love. 2004, Yulie Cohen Gerstel, Israel, 57 min, video.