States of UnBelonging

The core of this haunting meditation on war, land, the Bible, and filmmaking is a portrait of Revital Ohayon, an Israeli filmmaker and mother killed near the West Bank. Director Lynne Sachs creates a film on the violence of the Middle East by exchanging letters with an Israeli friend. Together, they reveal Revital’s story through her films, news reports, and interviews, culminating in heartbreaking footage of children discussing the violence they’ve witnessed. Without taking sides or casting blame, the film becomes a cine-essay on fear and filmmaking, tragedy and transformation, violence and the land of Israel/Palestine. RECENT NEWS! Oxford University Press publishes an in-depth analysis of the film in Tim Corrigan’s “The Essay Film – From Montaigne, After Marker”. “3 Stars! Presents a mature, artistic meditation on Middle East violence.”  Video Librarian “Parallels the layers of history of the Middle East – demonstrating the possibilities as well as limitations of bridging the gap between Palestinians and Israelis engaging the politics of conflict.”   Dr. Jeffrey Shandler, Dep’t of Jewish Studies, Rutgers University “Both humanist reverie and implicit cautionary tale.” Village Voice Sachs can turn simple ingredients into poetic imagery. [Her] new featurette features more than one instance of this talent. Mixing found footage and her own crisp digital imagery with great success, Sachs’ sensitivity towards Ohayon—with whom she identifies—results in the kind of layered story you won’t find in any newspaper.”—San Francisco Bay Guardian