The Museum is hosting a spring series of screenings of Black Maria Film Festival award-winning documentary films on the first Wednesday of the month, April – June, presented by Festival director Jane Steuerwald, often with filmmakers as special guests.

The second program, on Wednesday, April 4, will feature an hour-long documentary by Annie Macksoud called, “Seeing through the Wall: Meeting Ourselves in Palestine and Israel,” released this year. The movie was made in the months leading up to June 2017, which marks the 50th anniversary of the Six-Day War and the Israeli occupation of Palestine. 

For Israelis and for Jews around the world, the 1948 War of Independence was a miracle — and a new beginning for a suffering people.  For Palestinians, it became a catastrophe. Both narratives are authentic. “Seeing Through the Wall: Meeting Ourselves in Palestine and Israel,” revisits these narratives through the eyes of a group of Americans who, for twelve days in 2016, traveled with Rabbi Dov Taylor for a 12-day tour of Israel and Palestine to listen and learn.

Doors open at 6:30, the films screen at 7 pm, followed by Q&A. Light refreshments will be served. Tickets are $5 at the door. Seating is limited, reservations are advised.

Click here to reserve a seat.

Filmmaker Anne Macksoud spent seventeen years as a teacher (English, photography and music) before transitioning to making films. Once she discovered the eye-opening power of the documentary medium, she brought documentaries into her classroom on a regular basis. Eventually, she began helping her students make their own films and slide shows on the issues of the day (civil rights, the Vietnam War, and global poverty, to name a few). She approaches filmmaking from the perspective of an artist as well as an educator.

The Black Maria Film Festival’s Hudson County Movie Tour is made possible through the generous support of The Hudson County Executive Thomas De Gise and the Board of Chosen Freeholders – the Hudson County Office of Cultural & Heritage Affairs & Tourism.

Since 1981, the Black Maria Film Festival has been celebrating and preserving the diversity, invention, and vitality of the short film. The Festival’s home is New Jersey City University in Jersey City, NJ and is named after Thomas Edison’s original West Orange film studio dubbed the “Black Maria” because of its resemblance to the black-box police paddy wagons of the same name.

Black Maria is an international juried film competition, focusing on short films including those that shine a light on issues and struggles within contemporary society. Its touring programs always include provocative works by diverse filmmakers from across the US and around the world. These artists often represent an under-served constituency who might not otherwise have the opportunity for live public exhibition nationwide or abroad.