Julia Bacha (born 1980) is a Brazilian

documentary filmmaker A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". The American author and media analyst Bill Ni ...

. She has filmed under-documented stories from the Middle East including issues related to Palestine. Her 2021 film, ''Boycott'', explores anti-boycott legislation and related freedom of speech issues.

Background

Bacha was born in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, Brazil. When she was 17 she moved to the US to study Middle Eastern history and politics at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. She got accepted to

Tehran University The University of Tehran (UT) or Tehran University (, ) is a public collegiate university in Iran, and the oldest and most prominent Iranian university located in Tehran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as ...

for a master's degree but could not acquire a visa, and instead went to Cairo to work on a documentary, ''Control Room''. In 2003, she graduated from the

Columbia University School of General Studies The School of General Studies (GS) is a liberal arts college and one of the undergraduate colleges of Columbia University, situated on the university's main campus in Morningside Heights, Borough (New York City), New York City. GS is known prima ...

Career

Bacha has filmed under documented stories from the Middle East. In 2004, she was the co-writer (with director Jehane Noujaim) and editor of ''

Control Room A control room or operations room is a central space where a large physical facility or physically dispersed service can be monitored and controlled. It is often part of a larger command center. Overview A control room's purpose is produc ...

'', a documentary about

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which pro ...

. Bacha and Noujaim received a nomination for the

Writers Guild of America Award for Best Documentary Screenplay The Writers Guild of America Award for Best Documentary Screenplay is one of three screenwriting Writers Guild of America Awards focused specifically for film. The award is presented to the best screenplay of the year for a documentary feature. ...

for the film. Two years later, she co-directed (with

Ronit Avni Ronit Avni is a Canadian entrepreneur, tech founder, human rights advocate, and Peabody Award-winning film director and producer. Early life and education Avni was born and raised in Canada. She graduated with honors with an A.B. in politica ...

) the documentary '' Encounter Point'', which was the official selection at

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...

Hot Docs The Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival is the largest documentary festival in North America. The event takes place annually in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The 27th edition of the festival took place online throughout May and June ...

Jerusalem Film Festival The Jerusalem Film Festival (, ) is an international film festival held annually in Jerusalem, It was established in 1984 by the Director of the Jerusalem Cinematheque and Israeli Film Archive, Lia van Leer, Lia Van Leer, and has since become th ...

Vancouver International Film Festival The Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) is an annual film festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for two weeks in late September and early October. The festival is operated by the Greater Vancouver International Film Festi ...

and

San Francisco International Film Festival The San Francisco International Film Festival (abbreviated as SFIFF), organized by SFFILM, is held each spring for two weeks, presenting around 200 films from over 50 countries. The festival highlights current trends in international film and vid ...

s, where it won the Audience Award for Best Documentary. Bacha directed the 2009 documentary ''

Budrus Budrus () is a Palestinian village in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, located 31 kilometers northwest of Ramallah in the northern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the village had a population of ...

'', which was shown at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival and became runner up in the festival's documentary competition. ''Budrus'' won over 18 international prizes, including the 2012 PUMA Creative.Impact Award, the $50,000 prize is given to the documentary film that had the greatest impact on society. By 2006, Bacha had become creative director at the non-profit Just Vision. In 2013, her 2012 film ''My Neighbourhood'' won the

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...

and premiered online at ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''. In 2014, it won a Special Mention at the

Social Impact Media Awards SIMA Studios, also known as the Social Impact Media Awards (SIMA), is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit impact media agency based in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 2012 by Daniela Kon Lieberberg, SIMA is dedicated to advancing global awareness, human righ ...

. On November 12, 2017, her film ''Naila and the Uprising'' (2017) premiered at the

DOC NYC Doc NYC (stylized as DOC NYC) is an annual documentary film festival in New York City. Co-founded by Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen, the festival is the country's largest documentary film festival with over 300 films and events and 250 specia ...

film festival. Bacha's latest feature-length documentary, ''

Boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent resistance, nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organisation, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for Morality, moral, society, social, politics, political, or Environmenta ...

'', which explores

anti-BDS laws With regard to the Arab–Israeli conflict, many supporters of the State of Israel have often advocated or implemented anti- BDS laws (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions), which effectively seek to retaliate against people and organizations engag ...

and related freedom of speech issues, premiered in November 2021 at

Doc NYC Doc NYC (stylized as DOC NYC) is an annual documentary film festival in New York City. Co-founded by Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen, the festival is the country's largest documentary film festival with over 300 films and events and 250 specia ...

. The film tells the stories of people in three states who refused to sign a pledge to not boycott Israel as a condition for receiving state funds and contracts, deciding instead to challenge their states' anti-boycott legislation as unconstitutional. The film was funded by

grants Grant or Grants may refer to: People * Grant (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Grant (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters ** Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885), the 18th president of the U ...

from groups including Doc Society,

International Documentary Association International Documentary Association (IDA), founded in 1982, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) that promotes nonfiction filmmakers, and is dedicated to increasing public awareness for the documentary genre. Their major program areas are: Advocacy, Film ...

Fork Films Fork Films was an American film production and television production company founded in 2007, by Abigail Disney and Gini Reticker. The company primarily produced documentary films focusing on social issues, and select narrative films. They have ...

and the

Sundance Institute Sundance Institute is a non-profit organization founded by actor Robert Redford committed to the growth of independent artists. The institute is driven by its programs that discover and support independent filmmakers, theatre artists and compo ...

Filmography

*''

'' (2004) – Co-writer and editor *'' Encounter Point'' (2006) – Co-director *''

'' (2009) – Director *''Home Front: Portraits From Sheikh Jarrah'' (2011) – Writer and Producer *''My Neighbourhood'' (2012) – Co-director and Co-Producer * ''Naila and the Uprising'' (2017) – Director *''

'' (2021) – Director

Awards

* 2003:

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

prize upon graduation from

* 2009: 2009 King Hussein Leadership Prize (co-recipient) * 2010:

Search for Common Ground Search for Common Ground (or Search) is an international non-governmental organization that works to end violent conflict and build healthy, safe, and just societies. It is the largest such organization dedicated to peacebuilding, with offices in ...

Award * 2011: Ridenhour Film Prize * 2012: O Globo “Faz Diferença” Award * 2017: Columbia's University Medal for Excellence

References

External links