SYNOPSIS
In a tour-de-force performance, writer-actor Aaron Davidman conjures a host of different characters while seeking answers to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in WRESTLING JERUSALEM. Creatively adapting his acclaimed one-man stage show using only simple props and backdrops, Davidman takes a multidimensional journey into the heart of the Middle East, and the intersection of politics, identity and spiritual yearning. He embodies and gives voice to 17 different characters on all sides of the existential divide–deftly moving between male and female, Jewish and Muslim, Israeli and Arab–modeling what it takes truly to bear witness through the eyes of the other. Challenging long-held beliefs with sharp and unblinking observation, Davidman finds both entrenched isolation and shared humanity in the shifting moral compasses and competing narratives of all his characters. Filmmaker Dylan Kussman moves freely and seamlessly among three locations–a live theater audience, the open expanse of a vast desert, and a small dressing room–exploiting the interplay of theatrical spontaneity, cinematic poetry, and spiritual intimacy. The result is a unique hybrid of stage and cinema that reignites hope for the future of this troubled region.
In a tour-de-force performance, writer-actor Aaron Davidman conjures a host of different characters while seeking answers to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in WRESTLING JERUSALEM. Creatively adapting his acclaimed one-man stage show using only simple props and backdrops, Davidman takes a multidimensional journey into the heart of the Middle East, and the intersection of politics, identity and spiritual yearning. He embodies and gives voice to 17 different characters on all sides of the existential divide–deftly moving between male and female, Jewish and Muslim, Israeli and Arab–modeling what it takes truly to bear witness through the eyes of the other. Challenging long-held beliefs with sharp and unblinking observation, Davidman finds both entrenched isolation and shared humanity in the shifting moral compasses and competing narratives of all his characters. Filmmaker Dylan Kussman moves freely and seamlessly among three locations–a live theater audience, the open expanse of a vast desert, and a small dressing room–exploiting the interplay of theatrical spontaneity, cinematic poetry, and spiritual intimacy. The result is a unique hybrid of stage and cinema that reignites hope for the future of this troubled region.
THIS IS A WORK OF ART
IT MAKES NO SWEEPING GENERALIZATIONS AND OFFERS NO EASY ANSWERS.
RATHER, IT ASPIRES TO SERVE AS AN EXPERIENCE
THAT, COMBINED WITH DISCUSSION, WILL ADDRESS THE ISSUES
YOUR COMMUNITY FACES ABOUT ISRAEL/PALESTINE
AND THE BROADER CONCERNS OF OUR POLARIZED WORLD
SCREEN THE FILM IN YOUR COMMUNITY
MAKE SPACE FOR MULTIPLE PERSPECTIVES, COMPETING NARRATIVES, AND EMPATHY FOR THE "OTHER"
JOIN THE GROWING MOVEMENT TO END POLARIZATION AND CREATE NUANCED, COMPLEX AND MEANINGFUL DIALOGUE.
ONLY BY TALKING TO EACH OTHER WILL WE END THIS CONFLICT.
IT MAKES NO SWEEPING GENERALIZATIONS AND OFFERS NO EASY ANSWERS.
RATHER, IT ASPIRES TO SERVE AS AN EXPERIENCE
THAT, COMBINED WITH DISCUSSION, WILL ADDRESS THE ISSUES
YOUR COMMUNITY FACES ABOUT ISRAEL/PALESTINE
AND THE BROADER CONCERNS OF OUR POLARIZED WORLD
SCREEN THE FILM IN YOUR COMMUNITY
MAKE SPACE FOR MULTIPLE PERSPECTIVES, COMPETING NARRATIVES, AND EMPATHY FOR THE "OTHER"
JOIN THE GROWING MOVEMENT TO END POLARIZATION AND CREATE NUANCED, COMPLEX AND MEANINGFUL DIALOGUE.
ONLY BY TALKING TO EACH OTHER WILL WE END THIS CONFLICT.
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