THE HEART FROM JENIN

by Leon Geller, Marcus Vetter
  • (c) 2008
  • 2008 EIKON MEDIA GmbH
  • (c) 2008

    Synopsis

    The Heart from Jenin is the story of Ahmed Chatib, a Palestinian boy shot by Israelis whose father decided, within twelve hours, to donate his son’s organs to six Israeli children so as to save their lives.
    One and a half years have passed since then. What has Ismail al-Chatib, of the Jenin refugee camp, achieved with his peace gesture? To find out how Ismail’s deed changed the life of the recipients’ families, it is necessary to travel throughout Israel, from its northern hills on the Lebanese border, past the contended Holy City of Jerusalem, up to the edge of the Negev Desert in the south of the land.
    The film is a trip through occupied territory and hearts occupied by prejudice. It leads us to the people who have learnt to overcome their prejudices and to oth-ers who still speak of the misfortune of having to live with the organ of an Arab. It is the story of a humanitarian peace gesture that seemed, for a short instant, to prevail over the insoluble conflict between Israel and Palestine.

    Festivals

    2010 Deutscher Filmpreis LOLA 2010
    2009 Valladolid International Film Festival "Time of History" 1st Preis
    2009 International Filmfestival Leipzig DEFA Preis Beste Dokumentation
    2008 Dubai International Filmfestival Peoples Choice Award
    2009 Cinema for Peace Award Most Valuable Documentary of the Year
    2009 Movies that Matters Amnesty International Audiance Award

    2008 Jerusalem Film Festival
    2008 61st Locarno International Film Festival
    2008 Toronto International Film Festival
    2008 Hamptons International Film Festival
    2008 51st DOK Film Festival Leipzig
    2008 Valladolid International Film Festival
    2008 6th Warsaw Jewish Film Festival
    2008 Dubai International Film Festival
    2009 Doc Point Helsinki Documentary FF
    2009 Cinema for Peace
    2009 Amnesty Intern. Movies that Matters
    2009 Yamagata IDFF
    2009 Refugee Filmfestival Tokio
    2009 Korean IDF