The Global Big Screen

On January 27th, participants enjoyed popcorn and the screening ofBudrus, an award-winning feature documentary film about a Palestinian community organizer, Ayed Morrar, who unites Palestinians from all political factions and Israelis in an unarmed movement to save his village of Budrus from destruction by Israel’s Separation Barrier. Success eludes them until his 15-year-old daughter, Iltezam, launches a women’s contingent that quickly moves to the front lines. Struggling side by side, father and daughter unleash an inspiring, yet little-known, movement in the Occupied Palestinian Territories that is still gaining ground today. In an action-filled documentary chronicling this movement from its infancy, Budrus shines a light on people who choose nonviolence to confront a threat.  The movie is directed by award-winning filmmaker Julia Bacha (co-writer and editor of Control Room and co-director Encounter Point), and produced by Bacha, Palestinian journalist Rula Salameh, and filmmaker and human rights advocate Ronit Avni (formerly of WITNESS, Director of Encounter Point).

The screening was followed by a discussion with Nadav Greenberg of Just Vision, the non-profit organization made up of Israelis, Palestinians and North Americans that produced Budrus and other multimedia and educational tools to raise awareness about Palestinian and Israeli civilians working nonviolently to end the occupation and resolve the conflict.

The UNC Global Big Screen is a movie series that screens exceptional documentaries aimed at fostering a conversation about critical issues in our world today. Pairing the emotional drama of film with speakers connected to the subjects brings these topics to life.

“A well crafted documentary can open our eyes to parts of the world that we rarely see. UNC’s ‘Global Big Screen’ presents powerful stories of tragedy and triumph, big and small, to Chapel Hill and the broader community. Bringing together the filmmakers with their audience takes the experience to the next dimension and should be an unforgettable experience for all,” Andrew Reynolds, chair of Global Studies, said.

This screening was hosted by the Carolina Center for the Study of the Middle East and Muslim Civilizations and Curriculum in Global Studies with support from the Department of Asian Studies, Arabic Program, Hebrew Program, North Carolina Hillel and Carolina Center for Jewish Studies.

Image courtesy of Just Vision.
Event Photography by Spencer Bakalar ’13