Bridge Over the Wadi on AllMovie

In 2004, a group of Palestinian and Israeli parents began a remarkable experiment in Israel's Wadi Valley -- a school called Bridge Over The Wadi, which educates fifty Jewish children and fifty Arab children. All classes are bi-lingual with an equal number of Israeli and Palestinian teachers, all students are required to learn both Hebrew and Arabic, the school has both a Jewish and an Arab principal, and all the children are invited to participate in religious celebrations, regardless of faith. The school was the subject of great controversy when it opened, and the administrators still find themselves dealing with a broad cultural divide when teaching the history of the area or dealing with each cultures perspectives on the founding of Israel. However, as the youngsters make friends with one another, slowly but surely the school moves towards its goal of narrowing the boundaries that separate two peoples. Filmmakers Tomer Heymann and Barak Heymann offer an inside portrait of life at the school in Bridge Over The Wadi, which examines both the ideals and the day to day realities of this important experiment in education. Bridge Over The Wadi was screened as part of the 2007 Silverdocs Film Festival, a competition founded by the American Film Institute and The Discovery Channel.