City of Borders
Shushan, a gay bar in Jerusalem, is the unlikely meeting place for the diverse cast of characters featured in Yun Suh’s award-winning documentary City of Borders. Sa'ar Netanel, a secular Israeli, owns the bar and also serves as the first openly gay member of the city council. Palestinian Samira Saraya and her Jewish-Israeli lover Ravit Geva navigate what the Israeli occupation means for their relationship, and what their relationship means for their families. Boody, a devout Muslim, risks his life by sneaking through razor wire from the West Bank and wonders whether it’s possible for him to remain in Ramallah. Settler and former Israeli soldier Adam Russo is stabbed by an Orthodox Jew while marching in Jerusalem's gay pride parade. Set during the construction of the separation wall between Israel and the Palestinian territories, Jerusalem’s gay community struggles to hold a gay pride celebration in the Holy City while the characters, and the country, contend with internal conflicts. The documentary explores the effort to find and share a sense of community in spite of differences of religion and nationality. Director Yun Suh, producer Simone Nelson, and subject Samira Saraya expected to attend
Cast & Crew
Director: Yun Suh
Producer: Yun Suh
Editor: Jean Kawahara
Screenwriter: Yun Suh
Cinematographer: Karin Thayer, Robin McKenna
Awards: Berlin International Film Festival 2009 (Teddy Award)
Music: Shranny, Musa Hanhan, Johnathan Zalben, Ronen Landa
Principal Cast: Featuring: Sa’ar Netanel, Boody, Samira Saraya, Ravit Geva, Adam Russo
Filmography: Debut Feature Film
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(2 reviews)
user reviews
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Informative, May 30, 2009
By Dan Rosson
“Nothing groundbreaking here but it was a good reminder that things are much harder for gay people in other parts of the world. ”
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well done, May 31, 2009
By Jennifer Smith
“proof that one can tell a political story without standing on a soapbox and shouting, or spoonfeeding prepared factoids to the audience. good editing, good documentary storytelling, nicely nuanced. it was a breath of fresh air after fare like Food Inc.”
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The following short films will screen before this film
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USA, 2008, 7 min.
Harvey Milk’s “Read this in the event of my death recording played against footage of the Milk set. A dual meditation on the power of history.
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