The filmmakers have a personal relationship to the region, and many of Just Vision’s staff and the team behind Naila and the Uprising have either grown up or lived in the Middle East for a substantial period of time. We are all committed to using independent storytelling and strategic audience engagement to build a pluralistic, just and rights-respecting future in Israel-Palestine.
In 2013, our team began extensive research into the events that took place during the First Intifada and interviewed dozens of Palestinian and Israeli organizers, journalists, and lawyers who were active during that time.
The first phase of research included interviews with Palestinian leaders who were exiled at the time for their involvement with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and members of the Unified National Leadership of the Uprising (UNLU), which was comprised of local leaders. We also interviewed Israeli journalists and editors who covered the uprising and hired an independent Israeli journalist to conduct an analysis of Israeli media coverage to understand how the story was reported to the Israeli public. Finally, we interviewed historians who chronicled the First Intifada and the negotiations that followed.
When we first embarked on the project, we didn’t know that women would emerge as the central protagonists. Our research soon revealed that a clandestine network of women, working through formal and informal networks, were fundamental to the sustenance and achievements of the Intifada. The research also showed that the unarmed nature of the First Intifada was largely missed in Israeli and international media coverage from the period. The more we learned, the more evident it became that this was the story we needed to tell. Our production team then interviewed over two dozen Palestinian women as well as several Israeli activists, journalists and human rights attorneys who were active during the uprising.
Because much of the story of the First Intifada hadn’t been told, one of the greatest challenges was finding footage, particularly from the grassroots perspective. With a team of Palestinian, Israeli and American archival researchers, we reviewed hundreds of hours of footage and countless pages of archival materials. The vast majority of mainstream coverage of the Intifada did not capture the story of daily popular resistance efforts nor the role of women’s leadership in the movement. However, we were fortunate to find some archival news footage from outlets whose reporting from the field more accurately reflected what was taking place on the ground.
We were also delighted to draw from a Finnish documentary about Naila’s life by Iikka Vehkalahti called Amal, Inam, Naila which became a central source of footage in illustrating the story captured in Naila and the Uprising.
Naila and the Uprising has received outstanding media coverage in the American, Israeli, Palestinian and international press. The New York Times called Naila and the Uprising, “an invitation into the world of real heroic people who persevere when all hope is lost,” and CNN’s Christiane Amanpour said the film delivers “a really important message, especially right now.” The Jerusalem Post wrote that Naila and the Uprising is “a film that advocates non-violent resistance, and the price paid for trying to realize it,” and editor-in-chief of Rai Al-Yom, Abdel Bari Atwan said the film captures “true stories of real people who challenged and confronted the occupation with their sheer will and determination.” The film has been featured multiple times in top print, TV and radio outlets including: The Washington Post, Ha’aretz, Ma’an, Channel 2 News in Israel, The Jerusalem Post, Amanpour & Company, Galatz, CNN, PBS, The New York Times, Al Jazeera, Yedioth Ahronoth, NPR and more. To see a full list of press coverage in English, please visit the Naila and the Uprising press page.
Naila and the Uprising premiered in November 2017 at DOC NYC, followed by its international premiere at the International Documentary Filmfestival Amsterdam (IDFA) and its Middle East premiere at the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF). Naila and the Uprising has since screened at dozens of festivals internationally, played for tens of thousands of audience members and won Audience and Jury Prizes around the globe. In March 2019, Naila and the Uprising aired nationally on the US’s Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) as part of the acclaimed Women, War and Peace II series, in partnership with Fork Films and WNET/ THIRTEEN.
Naila and the Uprising premiered in the Occupied Palestinian Territories in December 2017 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the First Intifada and in Israel in October 2018 to coincide with the online broadcast of the film on Local Call, the Hebrew-language news outlet Just Vision co-founded and co-published with 972 Advancement of Citizen Journalism.
To date, Naila and the Uprising has screened nearly 200 times, in more than 75 cities and villages across the globe, for more than 25,000 individuals. Some highlights include:
- Festival premieres at packed theaters worldwide including our world premiere at DOC NYC, international premiere at the International Documentary Filmfestival Amsterdam (IDFA), Middle East premiere at the Dubai International Film Festival, California premiere at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, London premiere at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival and beyond
- Our Palestinian premiere in Ramallah with over 800 Palestinians in attendance from across the region, including community organizers from Hebron, Budrus, East Jerusalem and beyond, as well as women leaders from the First Intifada and today
- Our Israel premiere in Tel Aviv-Jaffa with over 250 journalists, human rights advocates, Members of the Knesset, veteran organizers and young activists in attendance
- Our Gaza premiere with over 300 Palestinians in Gaza City, followed by screenings with universities, cultural centers and NGOs to reach youth, women, students, educators and activists across Gaza from Khan Younis to Beit Lahia.
For a full list of our past and upcoming screenings, please visit our events page.
To organize a screening or event in your community or school, please e-mail: screenings@justvision.org.
The film is entirely subtitled, and it includes violence and language that may be challenging for some. Adults are strongly recommended to preview the film before bringing children or teenagers under the age of fourteen to see it.
Naila and the Uprising is available in English, Arabic, Spanish, French and Italian. If you would like to help make Naila and the Uprising available in another language, please contact us at info@justvision.org.
DCP, Apple ProRes, DVD and BluRay. For community and educational screenings we can also provide an MPEG (H.264) through digital download. We cannot guarantee that your preferred format will be available due to high demand. We recommend booking as early as possible.
Naila and the Uprising is 76 minutes in total running time. The broadcast version, which was broadcast as part of PBS’s Women, War & Peace II, runs at 54 minutes.
