The Settlers

Director Ruth Walk gains unprecedented access to the orthodox Jewish women settlers of Tel Romeida, a community of seven families and 43 children in the West Bank city of Hebron. These earnest Israeli housewives seem oblivious to the all Arab world surrounding them. Stalwart in their belief in the Jews’ divine right to this land, they pay little heed to the fact that they are living in a state of siege, made possible only by the Israeli army. During Jewish holidays, the Arab residents of Hebron (who form the majority) must stay indoors under a curfew. The settlers' denial of their impact on their neighbors’ existence is disturbingly surreal.

Ruth Walk C.V Education : 1986 -1988 Photography Studies Hadassah College, Jerusalem 1989 -1993 Film Studies The Jerusalem School for Film and Television Exhibitions, Films and Prizes : 1987 1st Prize in Photography competition, Jerusalem 1988 1st Prize in Young Photographers' category 2nd Biennale of Photography, Ein Harod 1989 Work selected for the Amsterdam Photo Exhibition 1989 Arles Still Photography workshop 1992 Prize for graduation film 1993 "14 years don't erase 27" (fiction) Wins Prize for directing at Jerusalem school of Film and Television, selected for screenings in Edinburough and film festivals in France and Germany 1993 “Yehoshua Bat Joseph” 40 minute documentary broadcast by IBA, Israeli Television 1993 - 1997 Over 14 short documentaries 15 - 22 minutes long, broadcast by Telad, among them: - “Sarah Ravid, a Woman on the Run” (17 min) (A battered woman, mother of 5, tries to leave her husband who threatens to kill her) - “The Electricity Park” (15 min) (One night with Yair Degani, a young male prostitute) - “The Boy from Nahariya” (22 min) (5 months' follow-up of a young boy who is a victim of assault in his own classroom) - “Tel Romeida” (15 min) (One day in the life of a woman settler who lives in the most remote and extremist settlement in Hebron) 1995 - “Song of the Violets” (15 min) (Videodance, Bat Sheva ensemble, 15 min) 1995 - “Born Near the Sea” (45 min) (Kibboutz Shfayim) 1998 - “Pinkas’ Dream“ (54 min) Won special Jury Prize at the Jerusalem Film Festival, 1998 selected for screening at Doc Aviv and Freibourg film festivals. Broadcasted on Arte. 2000 - "The Balcony" (52 min) (The story of the Jewish Israeli actor Israel Becker. Selected for screening in the official competition in Haifa Film Festival, 2000. Berlin Forum, 2001.) 2002 - "The Settlers" (58 min) Co production with Arte ZDF, BBC, TVOntario, YLE nd TV2. Screened at DocAviv 2002 and won a special mention prize, Berlin Forum 2003, Marseille 2003.