Rebekah Wingert-Jabi
Directing
Biography
Rebekah has over twelve years of producing, directing and editing experience in film and television. She worked on films that aired on Al Arabiya, the Discovery Channel, and PBS. Rebekah lived in the West Bank for eight years where she worked with Palestinian and Israeli filmmakers to produce films (Swish, Swish) and documentaries (A Good Samaritan). She also taught filmmaking at Al Quds University and Dar Al Kalima College. Rebekah has managed several youth media projects in the Middle East including a Palestinian-Israeli video exchange project. Rebekah achieved a Master of Fine Arts in Film and Television Production from the University of Southern California School of Cinema-TV where she was awarded the Thomas Bush Cinematography scholarship.
Known For
Mohammed El Kurd is a Palestinian boy growing up in the neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah in the heart of East Jerusalem. When Mohammed turns 11, his family is forced to give up part of their home to Israeli settlers, who are leading a campaign of court-sanctioned evictions to guarantee Jewish control of the area. Shortly after their displacement, Mohammed’s family and other residents begin peacefully protesting against the evictions, determined not to lose their homes for good. In a surprising turn, they are quickly joined by scores of Israeli supporters who are horrified to see what is being done in their name. Among them is Jewish West Jerusalem resident Zvi Benninga and his sister Sara, who develop a strong relationship with Mohammed and his family as they take on a leading role in organizing the protests.
My Neighbourhood
Getting beyond the sensational headlines and broad generalizations that normally dominate discussions of Jerusalem, Home Front captures voices rarely heard, of those struggling to stop settlement expansion in East Jerusalem and build a future of pluralism and equality in the city. Featuring the accounts of a Palestinian teenager forced to give up half his home to Israeli settlers, an American-born Israeli mother who gets drawn into the demonstrations after her children’s arrest, a Palestinian community organizer who brings local women to the forefront of the struggle, and a veteran of the Israeli army who becomes one of the campaign’s leaders, Home Front chronicles the resolve of a neighborhood, and the support it receives from the most unexpected of places.