My Neighbourhood, Short Film from ASFF

Directed and produced by Julia Bacha & Rebekah Wingert-Jabi, My Neighbourhood is a short film by Just Vision, exploring the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis in the midst of a transition championing human compassion. After Mohammed El Kurd, a Palestinian teenager finds himself forced to give up his home to Israeli settlers, local residents begin protests which Israelis unexpectedly start to join and support. A documentary of unexpected co-operation, My Neighbourhood demonstrates an account of Israelis and Palestinians finding common ground in the common good, untainted by ingrained orientation. The film was part of the official selection for the Aesthetica Short Film Festival (ASFF) 2012 as part of the Documentary series, and won the Peabody Award 2012, Warsaw Jewish Film Festival and the Al Jazeera Doc Festival 2012. There is still chance to submit a short film for ASFF 2013, which runs 7 – 10 November across the city of York. The final deadline for submissions is 31 May.

ASFF allows for both budding and established filmmakers to connect with new, worldwide audiences and interact with some of the biggest personalities in the film industry today. High profile attendees in 2012 included representatives from Warp, BAFTA, Channel 4 and Raindance. Over 200 films will be screened at this unique event, in 15 iconic locations across the historic city of York, uniting a stunning setting with cultural experience.

In addition to great exposure at the festival, the Winner will receive £750 among other prizes and screenings at a number of other UK festivals; the People’s Choice Winner will receive £250. A shortlist of finalists will be included on the ASFF Sampler DVD, which will be distributed with the December 2013 issue of Aesthetica Magazine, the international arts and culture publication. Finalists will also be included in an editorial feature in the magazine, which has a worldwide audience of 140,000.

ASFF are looking for films 25 minutes and under of all genres to screen at the festival in November 2013. Entry is £15 and the deadline for submissions is 31 May 2013. For more information, please visit www.asff.co.uk.

Credits
1. Video courtesy of YouTube.