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Palestinian-Israeli conflict is subject of film and discussion

Nov. 30, 2007

KALAMAZOO--An award-winning documentary and discussion on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict will be Wednesday, Dec. 5, on the campus of Western Michigan University.

The film, "Encounter Point," will be shown at 7:30 p.m. in the Fetzer Center. A question-and-answer session with co-director Julia Bacha via video conferencing will follow the documentary. The event is sponsored by WMU's Palestinian Israeli Peace Initiative and is free and open to the public.

"Encounter Point," directed by Bacha and Ronit Avni, is an 85-minute feature that follows a former Israeli settler, a Palestinian ex-prisoner, a bereaved Israeli mother and a wounded Palestinian bereaved brother who risk their lives and public standing to promote a nonviolent end to the conflict. Their journeys lead them to the unlikeliest places to confront hatred within their communities. The film explores what drives them and thousands of other like-minded civilians to overcome anger and grief to work for grassroots solutions.

The film's world premiere was at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. It has since been shown in more than 35 cities worldwide and won the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the San Francisco International Film festival, the 2006 Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Rencontres Film Festival in Montreal, the Best Musical Score Award at the Bend Film Festival and the 2006 Spirit of Freedom Award at the Bahamas Film Festival.

The Palestinian Israeli Peace Initiative is a registered student organization of WMU. For more information visit www.rso.wmich.edu/pipi or e-mail at pipeaceinitiative@gmail.com.

Media contact: Deanne Molinari, (269) 387-8400, deanne.molinari@wmich.edu

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