Budrus

Shai is an Israeli director and writer from Jaffa. He has worked on televisions series for Israel's Channel 2, including Zbeng and Abramov. His first feature documentary film, Bilin My Love (Bil'in Habibti, 2006), about the nonviolent struggle in the Palestinian village of Bil'in was broadcast on Israel's Channel 8. His most recent documentary film Refugees, chronicling African refugees who cross the border to Israel from Egypt, aired on Channel 2 and Reshet in Israel.

DuBowski is the Director/Producer of Trembling Before G-d, which had a World Premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, received twelve awards, released theatrically in the United States, Israel, Canada, Germany, South Africa, and UK and is airing on BBC, The Sundance Channel, ZDF-Arte, Israel’s Keshet, and other TV stations worldwide. DuBowski has conducted 800 live events with the film across the globe and the film has been seen by over 8 million people.

Darius Fisher has produced and co-produced several award-winning documentaries on subjects ranging from alternative energy ("FUEL") to peace in the Middle East (Encounter Point & Budrus). As a filmmaker he is dedicated to finding and sharing solutions to some of the world's biggest challenges with the largest audiences possible. He is the founder and president of a production and post-production boutique Digital Neural Axis (DNA) in Topanga, California.

Jehane Noujaim began her career as a photographer and filmmaker in Cairo, Egypt. She attended Harvard University and was awarded the Gardiner Fellowship. She then joined the MTV news and documentary division as a producer for the series Unfiltered. Noujaim left her producing job at MTV to produce and direct Startup.com, which played as part of Sundance's documentary competition in 2001. The film won numerous awards, including the Directors Guild of America and IDA Awards for best documentary. In 2004, she directed the highly acclaimed film Control Room, which premiered at Sundance in 2004.

Anat Langer-Gal has been working and active in the non-profit sector in Israel for the past 12 years, with a special interest in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict and Women. Anat currently works with AJEEC-NISPED where she manages the organizations's Middle East programs. Anat has worked with The Bereaved Families Forum, the IWN (Israel Women's Network) and Brit Olam- International Volunteering and Development, as Manager of Resource and Development. Anat is also a trained facilitator and has worked with Just Vision, as Community and Outreach Coordinator in Israel for 5 years.

A leader of the movement in Budrus, Ayed organized the first “Popular Committee Against the Wall” in the West Bank by uniting all local Palestinian political factions, including Hamas and Fatah, and encouraging hundreds of Israelis to cross into the Occupied Palestinian Territories and demonstrate in support of his village. When challenged by his teenage daughter, he welcomed the launch of a women’s contingent that quickly moved to the front lines.

A Hamas member who works with Ayed to mobilize the people of Budrus, Ahmed talks about nonviolence as a strategic tool, best suited to achieve the village’s aims. He expresses surprise at the Israeli civilians who come to support the demonstrations by putting their bodies on the line and confronting other Israelis serving in the military: “We had already heard that there were some Israelis who wanted peace with the Palestinians. But these demonstrations exceeded expectations. . . . In these marches I saw these Israeli voices in real life; it wasn’t just something I heard about.”