2004 84 Mins This film has subtitles English

Arna’s Children

How the Children of a Palestinian Theater Group Got Involved in the Intifada

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Synopsis

This personal narrative tells the story of a children's theatre group on the West Bank that was established by Arna Mer Khamis, who grew up in a Zionist family and later married a Palestinian Arab. Directed by Arna's son Juliano, Arna's Children shifts back and forth in time to show the children in rehearsal from 1989 to 1996, and then revisits them later to discover the tragic fates that awaited three of them. Devastating and shocking, the film reveals the tragedy and horror of lives trapped by the circumstances of the Israeli occupation.

Release Date:2004
Duration:84 Mins
Subtitles:English

Trailers

Watch the trailer

Filmmaker Credits

Written & Directed by
Juliano Mer Khamis
Written & Directed by
Danniel Danniel
Produced by
Osnat Trabelsi & Pieter van Huystee
Camera
Juliano Mer Khamis, Hana Abu Shaada, & Uri Shteinmintz
Sound
Alla Khouri & Rani Nentzel
Editing
Obbe Verwer
Additional Editing
Govert Janse
Featuring the Children of the Theatre
Ala El-Sabagr, Zakaria Zbeide, Daude Zbeide, Majdi Shadi, Haifa Esteti, Nidal Swetti, Yussef Swetti, Mahmoud Kaneri, Khairia Fakhri & Ashraf Abu-Alheji
Production Israel-Palestine
Osnat Trabelsi
Line Producer The Netherlands
Sylvia Baan
Production Coordination
Matthijs Koenen & Li Einstein
Production Advisor
Hetty Krapels
Production Assistance
Spartak Khamis, Sami Kanbura, Abir Mer Khamis & Ahmad Zoabi
Translation
Kati Abu Nuara & Bina Saib
Subtitles
Erik Pezarro
Publicity
Sara Höhner
Online / Graphic Design
Moshe Sayada
Sound Design
Huibert Boon
Colorist
Martin Klein
Insurance
Shlomo Rosenbaum
Legal Advisor
Smadar Ben Natan
Accountant
Sahar Shamgar & Co., Israel
Music
Sami Kanbura
Commissioning Editor IKON
Wessel van der Hammen
For the New Israeli Foundation for Cinema & Television
David Fisher

Film Festivals

Official Selection
2003 International Documentary Festival

Awards

Best Documentary Feature • Tribeca Film Festival

Resources: Downloads and Related Links

Downloads:

Praise

"A must-see documentary. Sure to spark controversy for its straightforward presentation of the Palestinian struggle, [Arna's Children] limns a devastating group portrait of the legacy of occupation."
- Variety
"The documentary takes no sides, but its bleak message is all too clear."
- V.A. Musetto
New York Post
"What begins as a routine documentary about a children's theater group in a Palestinian refugee camp soon turns into a haunting chronicle on the tragic toll of war."
- Robert Dominguez
New York Daily News
"Contains amazingly candid views of warriors behind the scenes of battle."
- David Sterritt
Christian Science Monitor
"The film is both a fitting elegy for Arna and the children she tried to help and a deeply disturbing warning about what will continue to breed within the occupied territories until peace is brought to Palestine."
- Ken Fox
TV Guide's Movie Guide
"Gripping virtually from start to finish..."
- David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
"Offers a rare and poignant window into the lives and deaths of a lost generation."
- Molly Moore
The Washington Post
"Comes from a place of such deep empathy, involvement, and commitment that it seems as though it does not make a single bad move in its filmic path."
- Ori Klein
Haaretz
"Explosives on celluloid. In terms of documentary filmmaking, Juliano Mer Khamis has a filmic treasure."
- Meir Shnitzer
Maariv
"Fine, skillful editing. Manages to shock the viewer time and time again."
- Goel Pinto
Haaretz
"For the first time we are directly exposed, without the usual clichés, to human beings whom circumstances have pushed to the gates of hell."
- Meirav Yudelevich
Y-net
"The film can be summed up in five words: a punch in the guts."
- Itai Angel
Channel 2