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Rachel

Simone Bitton
2009 France 100 minutes English; Arabic; Hebrew

On 16 March 2003, Rachel Corrie, a 23-year-old peace activist, was crushed to death by an Israeli army bulldozer as she was trying to prevent the destruction of Palestinian houses. Two opposing theses exist as to the circumstances of her death: a deliberate murder in the view of Rachel’s companions, a fatal accident for Tsahal, the Israel Defense Forces. The film reconstitutes the unfolding of events, but the closer it gets, the more fragmented the truth becomes. Only the readings from Rachel’s diary and the e-mails that she sent to her parents give the true dimension of her death. This voice questioning the meaning of life is echoed in the film by two shots: one of the Tsahal spokeswoman who plays the card of communication according to the principle that transparency is the best form of camouflage; and other of the a conscript who cannot explain how war was able to push him into acts that he finds reprehensible in civil life. Blind warfare is the blindness that killed Rachel Corrie. (Yann Lardeau)

Simone Bitton

Née en 1950 à Rabat, au Maroc, diplômée de l’Idhec. Parallèlement à son parcours d’auteur-réalisatrice de documentaires, elle collabore régulièrement, en tant que journaliste, à diverses magazines et revues. Elle a réalisé entre autres :

• Solange Giraud, née Tache, 1981 • Nos mères de Méditerranée, 1982 • La réunion d’entre deux guerres, 1983 • La vie devant elles, 1986 • Les grands maîtres de la musique arabe, 1986 • Les grandes voix de la chanson arabe, 1990 • Palestine, histoire d’une terre, 1993 • OLP, le bureau du dialogue, 1994 • Mahmoud Darwich : et la terre comme la langue, 1997 • Le Mur, 2004

Production :
Ciné Sud Promotion
Editing :
Catherine Poitevin; Jean-Michel Perez
Sound :
Cosmas Antoniadis
Photography :
Jacques Bouquin
Copy Contact :
Ciné Sud Promotion

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