Just Vision is a non religiously unaffiliated nonprofit organization that utilizes storytelling, media and public engagement campaigns to highlight Palestinian and Israeli grassroots leaders working to end the occupation and conflict through unarmed means. They are based in Washington, New York and Jerusalem.

Background

Just Vision was formed in 2003 by

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 a B.A. in political ...

as a result of 2 years of research and over 475 interviews on the

Israeli–Palestinian conflict The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is one of the world's most enduring conflicts, beginning in the mid-20th century. Various attempts have been made to resolve the conflict as part of the Israeli–Palestinian peace process, alongside other ef ...

. The goal of the interviews was "to find out what kind of support they needed to advance peace. The overwhelming answer was to become more visible. The pockets of nonviolent activists throughout the region need a space to link and promote their messages." The interviews eventually became the basis for Just Vision's films and Visionaries interview series.

Filmography

* ''

Encounter Point ''Encounter Point'' is a film directed by Ronit Avni and Julia Bacha. It depicts different families that have been affected by the violence in Israel between Israelis and Palestinians. In this film, Just Vision, a non-profit organization, follows ...

'' (2006) * ''Budrus'' (2009) * ''Home Front: Portraits From Sheikh Jarrah'' (2011) * ''My Neighbourhood'' (2012) * ''Naila and the Uprising'' (2017) * ''Boycott'' (2021) The first film to be released by Just Vision was ''

'' in 2006. According to Anita Gates of The New York Times, "This film may prompt others to take up the cause." Just Vision's second film, ''Budrus'', is the best known, and has reached diverse audiences worldwide. The film is about non-violent demonstrations conducted by the residents of Budrus (a Palestinian town in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate) during the early 2000s to protest against the building of the Israeli West Bank barrier inside of the village. ''Budrus'' initially debuted on the festival circuit in 2009 at the Dubai International Film Festival. It also played at the Tribeca Film Festival. Since the release of ''Budrus'', Just Vision has released two new film projects on the growing trend of home evictions in

East Jerusalem East Jerusalem (, ; , ) is the sector of Jerusalem that was held by Jordan during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, as opposed to the western sector of the city, West Jerusalem, which was held by Israel. Jerusalem was envisaged as a separat ...

. The first is a series of shorts called ''Home Front: Portraits From Sheikh Jarrah'', followed by a 25-minute documentary, ''My Neighbourhood'', co-directed and co-produced by Rebekah Wingert-Jabi and Julia Bacha. Both projects follow the individual stories of Palestinian and Israeli nonviolent resistance to the eviction of Palestinian families. ''My Neighbourhood'' premiered in 2012 at the Tribeca Film Festival, and has been screened across the United States, as well as at the European Parliament. In 2017, Just Vision produced Naila and the Uprising, directed by Julia Bacha. It was a documentary that highlighted the hardships Palestinians faced against Israel. In 2018, Facebook blocked the trailer for Naila and the Uprising for all Facebook users in Israel. In a message to the operators of the Local Call Facebook page that attempted to post the trailer, which Just Vision helps fund, Facebook said, “Your ad was not approved because it doesn’t conform to our advertising policy. We don’t allow advertising that includes shocking, derogatory or sensational content, including ads that depict violence or threats of violence.” Yet hours before the film's screening in Jaffa, Israel, the ad received approval to run on the site. In 2021, Just Vision produced the documentary film ''Boycott''.

Awards

Just Vision is the recipient of numerous film awards:Julia Bacha , Staff Bio
/ref> 2006 ''Encounter Point'' * Winner: Audience Award Best Documentary at San Francisco International Film Festival * Winner: Audience Award Best Documentary at Rencontres International Film Festival * Winner: Spirit of Freedom Award, Bahamas International Film Festival * Winner: Best Musical Score at Bend Film Festival 2007 * Winner: Grand Jury Prize, Best Documentary at São Paulo Jewish Film Festivals * Winner: Best First Documentary, Docupólis Film Festival (Barcelona) 2009 ''Budrus'' * King Hussein Leadership Prize 2010 * Winner, Panorama Audience Award Second Prize, Berlin International Film Festival * Winner, Special Jury Mention, Tribeca Film Festival * Winner, Audience Award, San Francisco International Film Festival * Winner, Honorable Mention for Best Documentary in the Spirit of Freedom Award, Jerusalem International Film Festival * Winner, Witness Award at Silverdocs Film Festival * Winner, Honorable Mention of the Jury, Documenta Madrid * Winner, Amnesty Italia Award, Pesaro Film Festival * Winner, Founders Prize, Best of Fest, Nonfiction, Traverse City Film Festival * Winner, Checkpoints Award, Bergen International Film Festival * Winner, Festival des Libertés Prize, Festival des Libertés * Winner, Spirit of Freedom Documentary Award, Bahamas International Film Festival * Circles of Change Award * The Common Ground Award 2011 * Winner, Amnesty's Matter of Act Human Rights Award, Movies That Matter Film Festival * Winner, Jury Award for Excellence in Documenting a Human Rights Issue, Bellingham Human Rights Film Festival * The Henry Hampton Award for Excellence in Film and Digital Media * The Ridenhour Documentary Film Prize

References

External links

*{{official website, http://www.justvision.org/ Companies established in 2003 Documentary film production companies Non-profit organizations based in the United States Peace organizations