Documentary: marginalized - مهمشون

The 17-year-old Noman lives in Wade el-Neam, one of the Arab villages that are not officially recognised by the Israeli state, i.e. no electricity, no running water, no roads, no schools and no waste removal. Noman is an amateur photographer and he logs this devastating living situation with a humble camera. Currently, there are more than 100,000 Arab citizens of Israel living in 50 "unrecognized" villages.

Gamileh has lost her 17-year-old son Asiel. During a demonstration, he was beaten and shot dead by Israeli policemen in front of her eyes. Asiel had been a member of the peace association “Seeds of Peace”, and he was wearing the green club pullover, when he was killed. From 2000 to today 50 Arab citizens of Israel have been killed by the israeli security forces.

Taisier (40) is married. His wife, a Palestinian without Israeli citizenship has received a residence permit that she has to renew each year. Nonetheless, she has hardly any rights in Israel. She is not allowed to work, to drive a car or to take up studies, and she is not entitled to Israeli health care services. On the other hand, every Jewish person is granted Israeli citizenship on the first day of their arrival in the country.

Maisa, a 23-year-old music student, lives in Jaffa. She is the only Arab girl in her course of studies. In simple everyday situations, she is confronted with an ever-present discrimination: on the bus, in the restaurant, at the offices and with the authorities. Nonetheless, she has many Jewish colleagues as well as friends and believes in peace, dialogue and coexistence. With her voice and her guitar she fights against discrimination against the Palestinians. She has not decided for traditional Arab music and sings reggae, rap and hip hop music in Arabic language, instead.

The film is supposed to convey in a suspenseful, informative and genuine way the situation of its protagonists and the atmosphere of their environment, informing through their personalities about various aspects of their lives and arousing emotion through their stories, experiences and conflicts. Above all, it intends to encourage discussion. So the film is aimed at drawing audiences’ interest of a kind that has them desire to follow up in greater detail with the conflict it describes. Additional information is provided by supporting material, screenings with lectures and discussion panels, and on the according website. The target group does not only comprise an audience that is specifically interested in the Middle East conflict, but also viewers, who are not familiar with this issue. The film does not require any specific prior knowledge, nor does it presuppose any previous political precognition of the conflict. The protagonists’ differences in age, the diversity of locations and the spectrum of conflicts offer manifold opportunities for viewers to relate to. In addition, the observational Direct Camera style of shooting enables viewers to witness the proceedings, to empathise with their protagonists and to feel with them. Thus, the film is not addressing a specific socio-demographic group but the widest possible audience, rather. While there are recurring reports on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the media, the subject of the Palestinian minority in Israel is hardly ever addressed. Therefore, the film seeks to bring worldwide public attention to the set of problems that this population group has to cope with, thus, increasing the knowledge of the existence of this minority and making the wider public more aware of them.

• Because you do care, whether this film will be realized or not.
• Because these four protagonists deserve a documentary film tells their stories.
• Because you are interested in Palestinians in Israel and want to know more about them.
• Because you think that more reports about Palestinians in Israel should be given.
• Because you know the makers supporting this project personally and want to help them.
• Because all the people supporting this project work without any fee.
• Because you are enthusiastic about the idea and want to make a contribution thereto.
• Because the audiences need to decide themselves, which films they would like to watch.
• Because this film cannot be realized without your support.
• Because you would like to do something good.
• Because you can do this!

The money will be used for the cost of shooting:

• Equipment Rental (Camera, Sound...)
• Flight tickets
• Rental car
• Fuel
• Accommodation
• Insurance
• Catering