Arna's Children (2004)
Directed by Danniel Danniel / Juliano Mer Khamis
Genres - War |
Sub-Genres - Biography, Military & War, Race & Ethnicity, Social History |
Release Date - Oct 8, 2004 (USA - Limited) |
Run Time - 85 min. |
Countries - Israel, Netherlands |
MPAA Rating - NR
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Synopsis by Mark Deming
Arna Mer was a devout Israeli Jew who served in her nation's army as a teenager and fought for the cause of freedom for Israel. Arna later fell in love with a Palestinian man, and as she became disenchanted with Israel's policies, Arna began to actively support Palestine. In her later years, Arna Mer Khamis opened a learning center for children in Palestine after Israeli troops closed the nation's schools during their occupation, and Arna, with her son Juliano, organized a children's theater troupe as part of their curriculum. Juliano often brought a camera to classes and rehearsals of his theater group between 1989 and 1996, and he and filmmaker Danniel Danniel used this footage as a starting point for the documentary Arna's Children. The film offers a look at youngsters growing up under trying and dangerous circumstances who have found joy and self-expression through art; later, Juliano and Danniel track down several of Arna's students, discovering that the grim realities of life in Palestine have not escaped them.
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Keywords
follow-up, frustration, Israeli [nationality], Jewish, life-choices, martyrdom, Palestinian [nationality], political-conflict, refugee-camp, resistance-fighters, self-expression, struggle, theater-troupe, youth