Rachel | |
---|---|
Directed by | Simone Bitton |
Written by | Simone Bitton |
Produced by | Thierry Lenouvel |
Starring | Rachel Corrie |
Cinematography | Jacques Bouquin |
Edited by | Jean-Michel Perez Catherine Poitevin |
Distributed by | Women Make Movies |
Running time | 100 min. |
Countries | France, Belgium |
Rachel is a 2009 documentary film by Simone Bitton detailing the death of Rachel Corrie (1979-2003). Corrie was an American activist and diarist. [1] A member of the pro-Palestinian group International Solidarity Movement (ISM), [2] she was crushed to death by an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) armored bulldozer in a southern Gaza Strip combat zone during the height of the second Palestinian intifada [3] under contested circumstances. [1] [4] [5]
The premiere was at Berlin Film Festival in February 2009. "Rachel is an in-depth cinematic investigation into the death of an unknown young girl, made with a rigor and scope normally reserved for first-rate historical characters. It gives voice to all the people involved in Rachel’s story, from Palestinian and foreign witnesses to Israeli military spokespersons and investigators, doctors, activists and soldiers linked to the affair. The film begins like a classic documentary, but soon develops, transcending its subject and transforming into a cinematographic meditation on youth, war, idealism and political utopia. In the beginning, there is this: she was called Rachel Corrie. She was 23. She was convinced that her American nationality would be enough to make her an effective human shield, that her simple presence would save lives, olive trees, wells and houses." [6]
Simone Bitton: "I suppose that I initiated the project of Rachel as an attempt to cleanse myself of this shame: I wanted to film in Gaza because I know that if filmmakers stop filming in places where they are not welcome, not only will it become easier for occupation forces everywhere to kill and destroy – but also documentary cinema itself will die – and only the TV news media spectacle of war will remain." [6]
The first North American public screening was at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival. [7] It is said the film reports the case from "an Israeli point of view". [8] But a controversy arose with respect to the showing of the film at the 2009 San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, and the festival's extending an invitation to Corrie's mother to speak. Jewish Voice for Peace, the film's sponsor, was called "anti-Semitic" by the festival managers. [9]
Rachel Aliene Corrie was an American activist and diarist. She was a member of the pro-Palestinian International Solidarity Movement (ISM) and was active throughout the Palestinian territories. In 2003, Corrie was in Rafah, a city in the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli military was demolishing Palestinian houses at the height of the Second Intifada. In an attempt to stop the demolitions as they were being carried out, she stood in front of an armored bulldozer and was subsequently crushed to death by it under contested circumstances.
The International Solidarity Movement is a Palestinian-led movement focused on assisting the Palestinian cause in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. ISM is dedicated to the use of nonviolent protests and methods only. The organization calls on civilians from around the world to participate in acts of nonviolent protests against the Israeli military in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Thomas Hurndall was a British photography student, a volunteer for the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), and an activist against the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories. On 11 April 2003, he was shot in the head in the Gaza Strip by a (IDF) sniper, Taysir Hayb. Hurndall was left in a coma and died nine months later.
The IDF Caterpillar D9 —nicknamed Doobi — is a Caterpillar D9 armored bulldozer used by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The Israeli armored CAT D9 was heavily modified by the Israel Defense Forces, Israeli Military Industries and Israel Aerospace Industries to increase the survivability of the bulldozer in hostile environments and enable it to withstand heavy attacks, thus making it suitable for military combat engineering use. The IDF Caterpillar D9 is operated by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Combat Engineering Corps for combat engineering and counter-terrorism operations.
John Greyson is a Canadian director, writer, video artist, producer, and political activist, whose work frequently deals with queer characters and themes. He was part of a loosely-affiliated group of filmmakers to emerge in the 1980s from Toronto known as the Toronto New Wave.
My Name Is Rachel Corrie is a play based on the diaries and emails of activist Rachel Corrie, who was killed by an Israeli soldier when she was aged 23. It was jointly edited by journalist Katharine Viner and actor Alan Rickman who also directed it.
Occupation 101: Voice of the Silenced Majority is a 2006 documentary film on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict directed by Sufyan Omeish and Abdallah Omeish, and narrated by Alison Weir, founder of If Americans Knew. The film focuses on the effects of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and discusses events from the rise of Zionism to the Second Intifada and Israel's unilateral disengagement plan, presenting its perspective through dozens of interviews, questioning the nature of Israeli–American relations—in particular, the Israeli military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, and the ethics of US monetary involvement. Occupation 101 includes interviews with mostly American and Israeli scholars, religious leaders, humanitarian workers, and NGO representatives—more than half of whom are Jewish—who are critical of the injustices and human rights abuses stemming from Israeli policy in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza.
Simone Bitton is a French-Moroccan documentary filmmaker. Her films have been nominated for or won the César Award, the Marseille Festival of Documentary Film Award, and the Sundance Film Festival, Special Jury Prize.
George Sluizer was a French-born Dutch filmmaker whose credits included features as well as documentary films.
The Free Gaza Movement (FGM) is a coalition of human rights activists and pro-Palestinian groups formed to break Egypt and Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip and publicise the situation of the Palestinians there. FGM has challenged the Israeli–Egyptian blockade by sailing humanitarian aid ships to Gaza. The group has more than 70 endorsers, including Desmond Tutu and Noam Chomsky.
The Skies are Weeping is a cantata by composer Philip Munger. The cantata memorializes Rachel Corrie and Tom Hurndall.
Anna Baltzer is an American public speaker, author and activist for Palestinian human rights.
MV Rachel Corrie is a 499 GT coaster owned and operated by the Free Gaza Movement. The ship is named in honour of Rachel Corrie, a deceased member of the International Solidarity Movement. Built by J.J. Sietas in Hamburg in 1967, she was originally named Carsten; she has also carried the names Norasia Attika, Manya and Linda.
Five Hours from Paris is a 2009 Israeli comedy film by Leonid Prudovsky. It premiered as an official selection at the Toronto International Film Festival on 12 September 2009. A French cinema chain caused controversy when they cancelled its release following the Gaza flotilla raid and instead screened a French documentary about Rachel Corrie, an American protester killed by an Israeli bulldozer in 2004.
Budrus is a 2009 Israeli/Palestinian/American documentary film directed by Julia Bacha, produced by Ronit Avni, Rula Salameh, and Julia Bacha, and with a screenplay by Bacha. The film is about non-violent demonstrations conducted by the residents of Budrus during the early 2000s to protest against the building of the Israeli West Bank barrier inside of the village.
On Sunday, April 18, 2010, the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) initiated an event titled "The Chicago Hearing: Does U.S. Policy on Israel and Palestine Uphold Our Values?", modeled after a meeting of a United States Congressional fact-finding committee.
Sandra Jordan is an Irish television journalist, best known for her investigative visits to many conflict zones around the world for the Channel 4 series Dispatches and Unreported World.
Events in the year 2003 in the Palestinian territories.
Let Me Stand Alone is a book containing collected writings, including diaries and letters, of Rachel Corrie, published by W. W. Norton & Company in 2008. Corrie was killed in 2003 by an Israel Defense Forces armored bulldozer while protesting the destruction of a Gaza house which belonged to a Palestinian doctor.
Rachel Leah Jones is an American-Israeli documentary film director and producer. Her documentary film Advocate about the controversial human rights lawyer Leah Tsemel, which she co-directed and co-produced with cinematographer Philippe Bellaïche, premiered at 2019 Sundance Film Festival, and won top prizes at Kraków Film Festival, Thessaloniki Documentary Festival and Docaviv Festival.