During the month of August 1999, the Department of Media and Film Education at the Jerusalem Cinematheque held the "I Am/You Are" seminar, a project on self-identity-through-filmmaking aimed at Jerusalem's Jewish and Arab youth. The project brought together thirty young people between the ages of 15 and 17, Arab and Jewish teenagers from neighborhoods in and around Jerusalem, to make films which reflect the way they define their identity, experiences, dreams, hopes and fears.

The films produced are an honest representation of personal, communal, national and religious identity. The individual stories told in the films create a mosaic in which common denominators and individual differences are expressed. Each individual story reflects the problems and dilemmas that face the youth of Israeli society, and the films demonstrated a striking awareness of the long road still to go towards real co-existence. Though the films depict a very real and very difficult reality, the project itself is a document of hope and the possibility of co-existence. The films are very firmly placed in the context of Jerusalem but the project could be transported to any context and it is our hope that it might serve as an example for future workshops, in Israel and abroad.

* * *

The "I Am/You Are" Project is based at the Jerusalem Cinematheque and was initiated in the beginning of 1999, in the Cinematheque's Department of Media and Film Education. The Jerusalem Cinematheque is a non-profit cultural and educational institution dedicated to promoting the art of cinema. The Cinematheque building, located on the seam between West and East Jerusalem, is a research as well as an entertainment facility. It houses two theaters where the monthly programming includes hundreds of films - foreign films and classics from the archive, new releases and special retrospectives. It is also home to the Israel Film Archive, where over 20,000 Israeli, Jewish and international films are kept and preserved, and a library where students, scholars and filmmakers come to do research. Yearly, the Cinematheque and its director Lia van Leer, host the Jerusalem International Film Festival, Israel's most prestigious cinematic event. The festival offers over 150 films in a wide variety of categories from dozens of countries from around the world, and is a showcase for the local cinematic production.

The Department for Media and Film Education is one vital component of the Cinematheque, offering educational activities on social, historical and cultural topics through the film medium. The Department offers 300 days a year of programming for elementary, secondary and high school students, special education and handicapped students. The Department provides courses for adults and professionals, including lectures aimed specifically at teachers, social workers or psychologists. It provides courses in conjunction with the Hebrew University, Everyman's University and different cultural and social organizations each building a seminar on the subjects they specialize in.

Working in conjunction with the municipality of Jerusalem and its education system, the Department designs its seminars and workshops with the input of the teachers and cinema advisers. Its programming reaches students in West and East Jersualem alike, and includes lectures in Arabic. The Department initiated the Wim van Leer competition for high school students showing the best of cinema done by high school students in the framework of the International Film Festival.

The Department's very purpose stems from the belief that cinema can be used as a tool for broadening horizons, improving interpersonal communication and developing humanistic values. With a strong belief in the importance of interdisciplinary education, the Department approaches topics from history to philosophy and politics through the window of Cinema. The Department provides a wide range of programming on such subjects as "tolerance", "racism", "sexism" and "democracy" side by side with subjects as" The nature of Film Comedy ", " Science fiction "and has piloted several projects designed to foster mutual understanding between Jerusalem's diverse communities, including lecture days on co-existence with Jewish and Arab lecturers. The "I am/You are" workshop was conceived of in this spirit.

* * *

The primary and ultimate goal of the "I am/You are" project is to bring together Arab and Jewish youth from Jerusalem and to help break down the walls of misunderstanding, fear and hate that exist between them. Even at the age of 15, these boundaries, which have been created by politics, history cultural differences and language, and which have been reinforced by the physical separation of their neighborhoods and the strength of prejudice and stereotypes, are seemingly impenetrable. Working together towards a common goal, they are given the most real and effective way of learning about themselves and about one another.

The cinema medium offers young people a means of documenting one's own history, recording one's personal perspective and communicating with a potentially infinite audience. Working in groups of 4 or 5 on a single film, the participants are forced to consider the elements of their own identity (personal, national, cultural and religious), and those of the other members of the group, which contribute to the making of the film. This forum and the medium of video itself provide the opportunity for first-hand bridge building between disparate cultures.

Another essential goal of the project is to give the young people a clearer idea of how the media works and to turn them into more involved, aware and critical viewers. The cinema medium provides young people with the tools to take an active role in the mediatic world that they otherwise only passively encounter (through television, movies and internet). With this concrete tool, the media becomes accessible, demystified. Knowledge of how the media works and even how to influence it gives young people an opportunity to determine what role as citizens they will play.

* * *

The first part of the project was a one-week-long series of workshops and meetings. The primary purpose of the workshops was to expose the participants to the arts, to the cinematic language, and to convey to them the inextricable connection of art and creation with self-identity, definition and representation. The week entailed a workshop in still photography, a creative drama role-playing workshop and a visit to the Israel museum. The participants also met with an Israeli artist who gave a lecture on self-representation through art and with Israeli and Palestinian filmmakers who spoke about self-expression through filmmaking. The introductory period provided the tools and the time for beginning to get to know one another. The encounter with art, photography and drama laid a broader cultural groundwork and offered a wide spectrum to work from.

The entire seminar was conducted in both Hebrew and Arabic, from the pre-production training workshops, to the production of the films themselves. This was an essential aspect of the program in that it did not limit the participants to those who shared a common language, be that language Hebrew, Arabic or English. All lectures were simultaneously translated, and even the smallest encounter between two participants would be translated by another participant or by a group leader, if necessary. This state of affairs necessitated an enormous amount of patience and tolerance but was impressive in its success. After a week of lectures, workshops and technical training, the participants split up into five mixed Arab and Jewish production crews. They spent three weeks making their films - brainstorming for ideas, writing a script, shooting and taking part in the editing process. In feedback sessions after the end of the production period, the participants expressed their amazement that they had succeeded in communicating with others who did not speak their language, and they have just met.

The group was split up into five production teams, each composed of three Arab and three Jewish participants, and each with a group leader, either Jewish or Arab. Already in the brainstorming stage of production, we began to get an idea of what subjects were pertinent to the participants. The production process involved a great deal of cooperation. After choosing a subject, they sat down together to write a script and then went out into the field to shoot. Each crew had to decide who would direct what scenes, which would shoot each of them, who would conduct the interviews. By the end of the workshop, the four crews had made four documentary films. The films were all in Hebrew and Arabic, translated to Hebrew, Arabic and English:

The films that were made in the years 1999 and 2000 are:

Summer 1999

My betrothed, my possession - every week during the summer, the people of the "Beit Tzaffafa" village are celebrating their traditional weddings. The short documentary questions traditional conventions through the eyes of Naguan, a young director, who takes us for a tour in her village, expose us to different people, opinions, and point of views.

Who is Eli? - A unique point of view on the complexity of one's identity. Friends and family build a portrait of a mystery character that has a Jewish name beside its Arab one. With humor and rhythm a group of young filmmakers goes out to answer the question: who is Eli?

In between - Ali - an Arab, and Maayan - a Jew, two participants, visits each other's home and neighborhood. Through the making of this film they get to know each other and experience the differences existing between their worlds.

May - May is a 16 years old girl, her mother is Jewish and her father is Arabic - who is she than? This amazing story of a mixed family with its prolific and complex concept of identity, takes us to the depth of the Israeli-Arab conflict.

Summer 2000

Child Bride - Beginning with the story of the mother of one of the participants, the film engages Arab women about the subject of marriage. Still today many women in the Arab community marry at a very young age at the expense of education or a career. The film exposes their stories and those of women who have chosen a different path.

Hamudi - The film tells the story of Mahmud Salman, one of two Arab players on one of Jerusalem's professional football teams. At home in his village, he is a hero but on the playing field, he must prove himself 50 percent more than the other players. After he is injured, it is not clear whether the team will keep him on or not.

When East meets West in Music - Mazhar Man'a is a violinist. His whole life he has been playing Eastern music and now he studies Western music at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. His personal style is a mixture of the two.

Zoo - Abdullah has been working at the Bible Lands Zoo for five years and is now a caretaker there. Through candid interviews with him and his friends at work, the film explores the difficulties they had to overcome to get to know one another.

Holy City - The six-member crew goes on a trip through Jerusalem's old city to speak to people about the three monotheistic religions for which the city is home. The filmmakers also interview themselves about their relationship to the important and controversial sites in the old city.

* * *

Summer 2001

Despite the persistence of the present Intifada, the political chaos and growing tensions in and around Jerusalem, the Jerusalem Cinematheque was able to put together its third annual filmmaking workshop for Jewish and Arab youth in Jerusalem: "I Am You Are - Films and Identity". We had very serious doubts in the months leading up to the summer, as to whether the workshop would take place, but after a long search, we put together a group of 25 young Palestinians and Israelis who were eager to spend the month together making movies.

The summer workshop was planned as in previous years. It began with an introductory week of lectures and classes including a workshop on still photography, a visit to the Israel museum and a creative drama workshop. Alongside these workshops the participants were given classes on the technical aspects of video and film: scriptwriting, directing, camera, sound and editing. These classes helped warm up the atmosphere and create a group that was creative, full of energy and eager to work together.

At the end of the first week, the group voted upon the subjects for the films and divided up into five filmmaking crews. Each crew sat down to write its script and plan its agenda for the rest of the month. All roles in the production were divided among the crewmembers, giving each participant responsibility for one aspect of the production. By the end of the month we had five films representing a variety of subjects and reflecting different lives and interests:

Call Me Dudu: The true account of what happened to Ahmed (also known as Dudu), after the ceiling fell during a wedding in Versailles Hall where he was working as a waiter. A personal portrait of a young man in crises.

v Leilith response: a close look at a restaurant in Tel Aviv that takes young lost youth to learn a profession and work.

Atas Family: a look at the daily life, dreams and fears of a young shepherd and his family who live on the border of one the Jerusalem's neighborhoods.

A Journey to the Debka: a look at a youth group that dances the Debka. What does the Debka dance symbolize for the new generation of Arabs? A film about tradition, culture and commitment to the past.

Juadi Comes Home: the team followed a rebellious cat looking for a new home. The film provides portraits of a few cat lovers, Israeli and Arabs, all seen through the eyes of the cat. After the long route the cat goes back to its owner.

These films allowed us once again to look at different issues facing Israeli and Arab youths, beginning with and returning to the central issue of identity and life in the midst of terror and conflict. For young people growing up in such troubled times, these questions are no simple matter. All of their films displayed maturity, curiosity, creativity and a strong will to work together.

The films can be analyzed from many different angles, cultural psychological and cinematic. Their authenticity, integrity and power surpass the aims we had in mind. The films offer you a glimpse at their word through the choices of subject and of style. The cooperative process helped break down walls of fear, misunderstanding and alienation.

In an interview with an English journalist an Israeli participant described the workshop as the most important month of his life. Before the summer workshop, he had never met any Arab youths. Through the work together on the film, the young men in his group became close and even met outside of the workshop. When a bomb exploded in the Sbarro pizza place later that summer, his strongest feeling was that the Palestinians human beings too. An Arab counselor told the other story: one of the girls in her group was a religious Jew who at first refused to work with an Arab group. By the end of the workshop they were not only friends but much more: at the screening ceremony with family and friends the young girl sat with her working team, and in her case it was a team only of Arabs…all the participants sat at the screening day with their group, and not with their guests.

The project proved again the importance of "doing" together. Only by "doing" and "being" together can we learn about ourselves and about others. The films were the tangible, concrete results of the cooperative effort of the young people provided something for them to be proud of. With the films in hand, they could walk away from the seminar with the self-knowledge that stems from viewing a unique product based upon their feelings and their world. Cinema provides us with endless windows into amazing worlds, cultures, ideas and languages. It gives us the opportunity to witness, but also demands our engagements as viewers. The" I am You Are" project brought us images made by young people who have yet to cross the line into the adult world. We looked at the images they created with a wet eye and an aching heart. But more than that, their images must be looked at very closely and with the awareness that as we look at them, they are looking back at us.

There are many more such stories and it is our hope that the experiences of the participants have made a change, however small, in their lives. Once again, cooperative filmmaking proved to be a vehicle for getting to know one other, and learning a few new things about oneself. The difficult reality in our country demands a very strong effort, an effort to be aware, conscientious, understanding and sensitive, qualities that are not obvious when the wind blows so hard at you and the muses are silenced.

* * *

The project " I am You are " was made possible by the Jerusalem Foundation With a generous support of a friend from England



I AM/YOU ARE
A project on self-identity through filmmaking
For Jerusalem's Jewish and Arab Youth

1999-2001




Contact Information:
The Jerusalem Cinematheque/Israel Film Archive
Founder and Director: Lia van Leer
Director, Department of Media and Film Education: Gilli Mendel
Administrative Director :Yigal Molad Hayo
Producer and Instractor : Dror Shwartz
Address: 11 Hebron Road, PO Box 8561, Jerusalem 91083
Tel: 972-2-5654333
Fax: 972-2-5654335
e-mail: gillim@jer-cin.org.il