500 Dunam on the Moon

Parallel narratives have never been so ironically portrayed than in the story of the popular Israeli artists’ colony Ein Hod, known to Palestinians displaced by the conflict as Ein Houd. Upon discovering the abandoned ruins of the Arab village, Ein Houd, French architect Marcel Janco decided to preserve what was left—it later become a Dadaist artists retreat. The displaced Arabs tell of their ancient olive orchards and what happened when the Ministry of Interior drafted plans to build the Carmel National Park nearby. In the microcosm of this one geographic area , the film presents how the clash of two cultures, East and West, Jewish and Arab, has led to the current ongoing and tragic violence.

Rachel Leah Jones is an independent director/producer born in Berkeley, California. After growing up in Israel she returned to the United States where she completed her BA in Race, Class and Gender Studies; Film, and Photography at Evergreen College in Olympia, Washington, and a MFA in Media Arts Production from the City University of New York. She spent much of the past decade in Jerusalem working as an activist with the Alternative Information Center, a joint Palestinian-Israeli organization. 500 DUNAM ON THE MOON is Jones' directorial debut. From 2008 Festival: Director, Israel Rachel Leah Jones is a director/producer born in Berkeley, California and raised in Tel Aviv, Israel. She has a BA in Race, Class, & Gender Studies and an MFA in Media Arts Production. Her directorial credits include: 500 DUNAM ON THE MOON (France/USA, 2002) and GYPSY DAVY (Israel/Spain/USA, in production). ASHKENAZ (Israel/Netherlands, 2007) is her 2nd film. Jones has worked on numerous socially and politically engaged documentaries in Israel/Palestine such as WALL, CITIZEN BISHARA and THE BOMBING (dir. Simone Bitton) and RAGING DOVE, CAFÉ NOAH and WARP AND WEFT (dir. Duki Dror). Over the years, she has been affiliated with various progressive media outlets such as the Alternative Information Center in Jerusalem where she worked as a researcher, writer and photo editor and the critically-acclaimed public TV/radio program DEMOCRACY NOW! where she worked as a camerawoman and video editor.