Contact: Ronit Avni
Tel: (212) 463-7025
Email: ronit@justvision.org

Encounter Point
A True Story About the Everyday Leaders Who Refuse to Sit Back as the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Escalates

Arlington—February 16, 2007—for Immediate Release: Encounter Point, the award-winning feature documentary about ordinary heroes in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, opens theatrically in Arlington, MA after successful screenings at the Tribeca Film Festival, the Jerusalem International Film Festival, the Dubai International Film Festival, San Francisco, Toronto, Vancouver, Rio, Haifa and more.  Audiences on both sides of this contentious conflict are turning out to see the film—mosques, synagogues and universities in bringing members to see Encounter Point in their local theaters across the country.

Encounter Point will screen at the Regent Theatre on March 21 & 22 at 7:30 pm. Co-Director Julia Bacha and film subjects Robi Damelin and Ali Abu Awwad of the Bereaved Families Forum will attend the screening on the 21st. The Regent is located at 7 Medford St. Arlington, MA  02474.

Encounter Point won the 2006 San Francisco International Film Festival’s Audience Award for Best Documentary; Montreal’s Rencontres Film Festival’s award of the same category, the 2006 BEND Film Festival Award for “Best Musical Score,” and the Spirit of Freedom Jury Prize at the Bahamas International Film Festival. It played opening night at the 2006 Vancouver Film Festival, ranked among the top-five audience picks at both the Hot Docs and Kansas Film Festivals, and has been an “Official Selection” at numerous film festivals around the world—including the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival, where it was named among the four favorite films by festival director Peter Scarlet. In recognition of the film’s power to build bridges, co-director Julia Bacha appeared on the panel Operation Cultural Bridges at the Dubai International Film Festival alongside Richard Gere, Oliver Stone and others.

After Munich and Paradise Now’s explorations of cycles of violence, Encounter Point is a refreshing look at the brave individuals in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict who are breaking those cycles. Encounter Point is about everyday leaders—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 Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In the face of violence and immense loss, these individuals step forward to end the circle of hate and promote reconciliation.

Filmmakers Ronit Avni (director/producer), Joline Makhlouf, Nahanni Rous (producers) and Julia Bacha (co-writer/editor of Control Room, winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Full Frame Film Festival and the Official Selection at the Sundance and Berlin Film Festivals in 2004 and co-director/writer/editor of Encounter Point) are an Israeli, Palestinian, North and South American team of women filmmakers committed to illustrating peaceful efforts not shown in the media. The filmmakers believe that by showing Israelis and Palestinians working together through nonviolent means, their documentary can be a beacon of hope and a catalyst for change. In fact, filmmakers Avni and Makhlouf were the first Israeli and Palestinian duo to appear together on The Oprah Winfrey Show in April 2005 during production of their film.

WHAT:      Encounter Point’s theatrical opening in Arlington
                   *Q&A with film co-director and film subjects (opening night)

WHEN: March 21st*, 22nd 2007, 7:30 PM at the Regent Theatre, 7 Medford St. Arlington, MA  02474
For tickets, visit www.regenttheatre.com/events/encounter.htm or call 781-646-4849.
           
Across the country, audiences who are moved by the film are pressing to have it shown to wider communities. To date, they have set up screenings in more than 15 cities including: Williamsburg VA, Manhattan, Oakland, Knoxville, Seattle, Ann Arbor, Maitland and Keene. Encounter Point is defying both traditional and non-conventional documentary distribution models, as it is largely audience-driven. “This,” says director/producer Ronit Avni, “demonstrates that there is demand for content about peace builders, the everyday heroes in our midst, and not just stories about politicians and militants.”

Variety hailed Encounter Point as a “concise, intelligent documentary that deftly avoids schmaltz in its delineation of grief and its celebration of cross-cultural activism.”

The historic Regent Theatre—located at 7 Medford Street (off Mass. Ave.) in Arlington Center—is wheelchair accessible with free parking across the street.  Tickets for Encounter Point are $10—available in advance or at the door.  For tickets, directions, and more information call 781-646-4849 or visit www.regenttheatre.com.

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