Martyr Street (2006)

Genres - War, Spirituality & Philosophy  |   Run Time - 90 min.  |   Countries - Canada  |   MPAA Rating - NR
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Synopsis by Mark Deming

"Martyr Street" is the name locals have given to a road that cuts through Hebron along the West Bank, near what's said to be the final resting place of Abraham. It's been called the most dangerous road in the world, with Palestinians and Israelis in a nearly constant state of battle over possession of the area. Filmmaker Sherry Saywell brought a camera crew to Hebron to chronicle life along this bullet-strewn path, and her documentary Martyr Street focuses on two children who live on opposite ends of the road -- Najlah, a girl from a Palestinian family, and Neria, whose parents are part of a small Jewish settlement whose members refuse to leave the area despite legal decrees ordering them to move on. As these two girls, so outwardly similar, grow over the space of five years, the bitterness of their people become deeper and deeper, as the Palestinians fall under the influence of radical Hamas extremists, and Israelis embrace terrorist violence to promote their cause. Martyr Street was Saywell's second film about violence in the Middle East and it's impact on young people, following her acclaimed documentary A Child's Century Of War.