Belle
Gaza Ghetto
Public Intervention (2014 – present)
There should be a word for it.
Earlier this summer I was sitting in a Berlin cafe with two other Jewish women. We each had a story about the moment when it happened. For me it was taking a language class and meeting a young man from Gaza. For the woman from Frankfurt it was while living in Jerusalem. A gear click-turns and the hazy fantasy of Israel is gone, replaced by something harsh and clear and true.
Question:
Am I living in alignment with my own values?
Gaza Ghetto was originally created in 2014 as a response to Israel's Operation Protective Edge. I wrote the name and age of each person killed in Gaza on my arm, photographed it and posted the image to social media. Israel killed roughly 2200 people that summer, most of them civilians, 548 were children. Since that time hundreds more Palestinians have been killed.
I used to believe that genocide was hard. Now I know that it is easy. An information bubble, an 'other' is all it takes. People line up to take the leap, contorting their beliefs like a pretzel to not confront the obvious.
The Gaza Ghetto project continues.
Please stay informed:
Democracy Now! has been doing exceptional reporting.
The Question of Palestine by Edward Said.
The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine by Ilan Pappé
The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance 1917-2017 by Rashid Kahlidi
Follow journalists in Gaza:
Hind Khoudary
Motaz Azaiza
Bisan
Please also see Chalk, Voices of 9.11.
Belle trailer (see below for complete film)
Belle premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and broadcast on IFC.
Additional screenings include the IFP Film Market, Hamptons Film Festival, Women in the Directors Chair and the Woodstock Film Festival. Rhode Island Film Festival, Lake Placid Film Festival, Coney Island Film Festival, CinéWomen, Vermont Film Festival, Tiburon Film Festival, High Falls Film Festival, Reel Venus
Belle was made with the generous support of the Jerome Foundation and NYSCA.
Writer/Director Ruth Sergel Producers Pamela Griffiths Nicole Franklin Maya Montañez Smukler Associate Producers Jude Calder Mei Szetu Director of Photography David Griffiths Editor Lora Zaretsky Music Michael Montes Costume Designer Suzanne Kelly Production Designer Paul Weathered Props Tyler Kim Sound Editor Al Zaleski Title Design Steve Tozzi Mr. Fix-it Manfred Reiff Production Manager Carolyn Hepburn
Belle Ethel Greenbaum Ladies of the Boardwalk Marion Baker, Hope Bernstein, Goldie Gold, Blanche Schreiber, Ruth Shapiro, Susan Spielman, Ruth Vogel Pablo George Valencia Cashiers Jennifer Poe, Jennifer Vilette Gas Station Attendant Juan Molinari Dandy Nathan Farb Hussy Deborah Schwartz Store Customers Kate & Lola Buncher, Robert Castanos, Sylvia Cattan, Denise, Sarah & Sylvia Grazi, Shannon Mincieli, Christopher Trudeau Gas Station Customers Kristen Carey, Molly Lariccia, Manfred Reiff Boardwalk Marsha Gildin, Franklin Perkins, Marilyn Silverman Belle’s Neighbor Shirley Seligman Belle’s Son Michael Shulan Secretary Vera Zelen Pablo’s Wife Candice Coke
Special thanks to Fay Greenbaum.
Interviews with the 8 Belles, women from 80 to 92 years, who collaborated in the making of Belle.
