Changing My Mind About Palestine
 
film synopsis An American woman takes a road trip through the West Bank that challenges her internalized stereotypes and perceptions of the Israeli-Palestinian “conflict.” By chance she meets Riayd Al-Ali, nephew of Naji Al-Ali, assassinated political cartoonist and “Handala” author, in a Ramallah cafe. The window into his life in Ramallah, and family history of dispossession, begins to erode her Christian Zionist narrative of the Holy Land. As Riayd reveals his family story, American news coverage and events as seen through her camera lens are juxtaposed. The result is two stories that are chronologically parallel but completely different. a feature documentary film tag line “They always show us throwing stones, but they never say why.” director’s relationship to subject “Jerusalem, Hebron, Bethlehem.” For as long as I can remember, the biblical cities mentioned in church every Sunday have been under siege by “radical Muslim extremists” every night on NBC news. An avid news watcher throughout childhood, images of masked gunman saturated my rural Midwestern mind, and formed an ominous picture of the world beyond the cornfields of Ohio. By the time I graduated high school, I had developed a paralytic fear of all things Arab and Muslim, and the words ‘Terrorist’ and ‘Palestinian’ had become synonymous - though it was still unclear to me who the Palestinians were, or the what the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was about. Unable to piece together the puzzle of American news, I decided to go see for myself: Who are the Palestinians, and what is happening in the Holy Land today? motif By juxtaposing American news footage with video shot in palestine, Changing My Mind About Palestine deconstructs the the media narrative of the Holy Land, and reconstructs it with stories and events seen through the lens of Palestine.
nora malone Nora Malone received her Master of Fine Arts, Film Production, from Temple University in Philadelphia in 2003, completing experimental films Drinking Raoule and Dreams of Jagodina. After graduation, she produced technical videos for DARPA-funded projects at the University of Pennsylvania, as well as non-profits such as Scribe Video Center. Currently based in New York, she is completing her first feature documentary, Changing My Mind About Palestine (13 Miles from Jerusalem). CV and experimental film samples may be viewed at www.noramalone.net. Contact: norfilm@gmail.com http://www.noramalone.netmailto:norfilm@gmail.comshapeimage_7_link_0shapeimage_7_link_1
PART 1 www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRGZ3QrKd8Y
PART 2 www.youtube.com/watch v=_XiX9fOpcAo&feature=related
MAIN CHARACTER RIAYD AL-ALI:  www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBywbW517tk&feature=related
 
More to come December 2010
view trailer 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsorship Changing My Mind About Palestine is fiscally sponsored by is Women Make Movies, Incorporated, New York. Tax deductible contributions may be made through WMM’s website. Click on the “donate” button and scroll down to 13 Miles from Jerusalem. Deep Dish TV, New York, also sponsors Changing My Mind About Palestine.
Contact: norfilm@gmail.commailto:norfilm@gmail.comshapeimage_10_link_0