''Jerusalem'' is a 2013

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

about the ancient city of

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. It was produced by Cosmic Picture and Arcane Pictures and distributed by National Geographic Cinema Ventures in IMAX and giant screen theatres.

Background and film synopsis

The film is narrated by

Benedict Cumberbatch Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch (born 19 July 1976) is an English actor. Known for his work on screen and stage, he has received various accolades, including a British Academy Television Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Laurence Oli ...

.Article on CBS News
/ref>
/ref> It had a US$8 million production budget and some of the profits from the distribution of the film are to be given to projects in the city that promote co-existence. A stated aim of the 45-minute film is to show the diversity of JerusalemArticle in Canadian Jewish News
/ref> and to promote understanding of the different cultures in Jerusalem. The film-makers were given special access to holy sites and several of the little-known parts of the city. They were permitted to film aerial shots of areas normally treated as no-fly zones. The filmmakers formed an advisory panel that includes academic and theological experts.Article by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
/ref> ''Jerusalem'' presents the city through the eyes of three teenagers – a Jew, Christian and Muslim - and the archaeologist Dr Jodi Magness, of the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

. The teenagers are Farah Ammouri, Nadia Tadros, and Revital Zacharie.Article in Boston Globe
/ref> The film shows how the teenagers live in Jerusalem, where they go and how the city is important to them. Dr Magness uses

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsca ...

to understand the past in Jerusalem.

Production

''Jerusalem'' was a joint production between Cosmic Picture based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, United States, and Arcane Pictures based in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, United Kingdom.

Jake Eberts Jake Eberts, OC (July 10, 1941 – September 6, 2012) was a Canadian film producer, executive and financier. He was known for risk-taking and producing a consistently high caliber of movies including such Academy Award-winning titles as ''Chari ...

was the executive producer until his death in September 2012. He described the city of Jerusalem as, "The beating heart of our world today." ''Jerusalem'' was produced by

Taran Davies Taran Davies is a film producer and director best known for his documentary film ''Afghan Stories'' (2002), and the IMAX feature documentary ''Journey to Mecca'' (2009). Life and education Davies was born in New York City and raised in London a ...

and

George Duffield __NOTOC__ George Duffield MBE (born 30 November 1946) is an English retired flat racing jockey. He served a seven-year apprenticeship with Jack Waugh, and rode his first winner on 15 June 1967 at Great Yarmouth Racecourse on a horse called S ...

Daniel Ferguson Daniel Ferguson is a filmmaker whose credits include ''Wired to Win: Surviving the Tour de France'', ''Journey to Mecca, Journey to Mecca: In the Footsteps of Ibn Battuta'' and ''Last of the Elephant Men''. Career Ferguson was line producer and ...

was producer, writer and director. Dominic Cunningham Reid is also an executive producer. The Director of Photography was

Reed Smoot Reed Smoot (January 10, 1862February 9, 1941) was an American politician, businessman, and apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). First elected by the Utah State Legislature to the U.S. Senate in 1902, he serv ...

Reviews

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' described the panoramic photography as "at once awe-inspiring and intimate" and said watching the film "may be as close as a person can get to praying at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the

Al-Aqsa Mosque Al-Aqsa Mosque (, ), also known as Jami' Al-Aqsa () or as the Qibli Mosque ( ar, المصلى القبلي, translit=al-Muṣallā al-Qiblī, label=none), and also is a congregational mosque located in the Old City of Jerusalem. It is situate ...

and the

Western Wall The Western Wall ( he, הַכּוֹתֶל הַמַּעֲרָבִי, HaKotel HaMa'aravi, the western wall, often shortened to the Kotel or Kosel), known in the West as the Wailing Wall, and in Islam as the Buraq Wall (Arabic: حَائِط � ...

, without actually going there". It was described by

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

as "an eye-popping travelogue", and "sure to enthral and educate" in ''

The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughou ...

''.Article in Washington Times
/ref>

References

External links

Official ''Jerusalem'' website

Cosmic Picture website

Arcane Pictures website
* * * * {{Metacritic film 2013 films 2013 short documentary films British short documentary films Culture of Jerusalem Documentary films about cities Films scored by Michael Brook Films set in Jerusalem Films shot in Israel IMAX documentary films National Geographic Society films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films 2010s British films