MEDIA ALERT: Movie on Israeli "ethnic cleansing" and Palestinian oppression to premiere at Encounters Film Festival (Monday 10 June and Saturday 15 June)

Members of the media are invited to the African premiere of the new documentary film "Village Under The Forest" which explores, amongst other themes, the role of the controversial Israeli-parastatal, the Jewish National Fund (JNF), and its involvement in building a forest over the Israeli-destroyed Palestinian village of Lubya. The JNF is celebrated by Israel and its supporters for its forest building work, however, the JNF is also criticized by human rights activists for its involvement in the Israeli oppression against the Palestinian people, and specifically the construction of forests on top Israeli-destroyed Palestinian villages in an attempt to erase traces of Palestinian life. "Village Under the Forest", whilst explosive in content, is at its heart, a moving and human story.

"Village Under the Forest" will be screened at the 15th Encounters Documentary Film Festival which is running from the 6th to the 16th of June in Johannesburg and Cape Town. "Village Under The Forest" will be screened at The Fugard Theatre in Cape Town on Monday (10 June) at 6:30pm and at the Bioscope in Johannesburg on Saturday (15 June) at 8pm.

"Village Under the Forest" is directed by the Emmy-award winning South African film-maker, Mark Kaplan and it is written and narrated by Cape Town based Jewish scholar and author Heidi Grunebaum. The documentary film has been funded by, amongst others, Cordaid based in the Netherlands, Norway's Karibu Foundation and South Africa's National Film and Video Foundation.

The film explores the hidden remains of the Israeli-destroyed Palestinian village of Lubya, which lies under a purposefully cultivated forest plantation called South Africa Forest, planted by the Israeli-parastatal, the Jewish National Fund (JNF). According to the film's website: "using the forest and the village ruins as metaphors, the documentary explores themes related to the erasure and persistence of memory and dares to imagine a future in which dignity, acknowledgement and co-habitation become shared possibilities in Israel/Palestine."

Narrator and writer of "Village Under the Forest", Heidi Grunebaum, had visited the South Africa Forest in Israel on a pro-Israeli youth programme in the mid-1980s but when she discovered the ruined Palestinian village of Lubya beneath South Africa Forest, she says, “it felt like the rug being pulled out from under my feet. I knew I’d been there before, but I’d had absolutely no understanding or ability to imagine then that my trees were erasing the presence of [the Palestinian] people who had lived there and been forcibly removed [by Israel]...the quiet violence of using trees to hide something felt like a deception.”

The JNF, an Israeli-parastatal that also operates as a charity in South Africa, has come under increasing protest by the international boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign for its involvement in the Israeli displacement, forced removals and oppression of the Palestinian people. Recently, after months of nationwide protests, South Africa's largest toy retailer, "Reggies", terminated its charity relationship with the JNF.

BDS South Africa, its staff and board of advisors, warmly welcome the African premiere of "Village Under the Forest" and wish all the best to its directors, Mark Kaplan and Heidi Graunebaum. We encourage members of the media and public to consider this must-watch documentary film.

For preview copies of the film, complimentary media invites to the screenings or to arrange interviews with the film-makers kindly contact Kevin Kriedemann (kevin@kevinlikes.com / +27 [0] 835562346). Attached find an interview with the film's director and writer, Mark Kaplan and Heidi Graunebaum.

ISSUED BY BDS SOUTH AFRICA NATIONAL SPOKESPERSON, MUHAMMED DESAI

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