Cameroon, France and Belgium / 2011 / 89mins / Documentary / Arabic, English, French and Hebrew

The film school of Sderot, located in the south of Israel 2 km from the Gaza border, is a microcosm of daily life in the country. Jews, Muslims, Christians, Palestinians, Israelis, left-wing radicals and nationalists share classrooms but rarely opinions. Here, cinema isn’t just an artistic pursuit. It is a nakedly political act. This film school is a sociological laboratory, confronting complex paradoxical ideologies and political positioning. It is a place of cultural geopolitics, intent on redefining perceived boundaries.

Osvalde Lewat

Osvalde Lewat is an award-winning filmmaker who began making documentaries after several years as a journalist. She produced her first documentary, Upsa Yimoowin (The Pipe of Hope) in Toronto in 2000. The film denounces the sidelining of Native Americans. With Au-delà de la peine, Lewat tells the story of a prisoner who, after being sentenced to four years in jail for a minor offense, is imprisoned for thirty-three years. In her 2009 film, Black Business, Lewat addresses the question posed by Nigerian Nobel Laureate author Wole Soyinka: “They say Africans are not ready for democracy. So I wonder: have they ever been ready for dictatorship?” Lewat studied at Sciences Po in Paris. Since 2012, Levat's main focus has been on photography. Her work explores the idea of "otherness and ways of seeing". She has exhibited her work in Paris, the United States and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Learn More