Proud supporter of the
Cross Currents -
Palestinian Voices Then & Now
A Documentary Film
Approved for 501c3 fiscal sponsorship by Boulder County Arts Alliance
In 2022, Bruce Borowsky and Bruce Shaffer were in the West Bank town of Bethlehem leading their week long Voices of Palestine’s Future videography training program for Palestinian young adults. The two Bruces were entrusted with the ideas and visions the students shared on camera during their training interviews. The students opened up about their lives, their future, and their people’s future, and as intended, a short documentary video was started. We have immense gratitude to those who financially helped to make the program a success and get us to where we are now.
Here’s a few sample clips from our work-in-progress:
The Middle East Landscape Has Profoundly Changed.
Help us Show the Transformation of Our Students.
After overcoming many production obstacles and making good progress toward completion, Israel was shaken to its core on October 7th by the Hamas attack. The ongoing tremors in Israel, and the ensuing violence in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria are reshaping the lives of all in the region. We now have the opportunity to revisit the students, three years later, to record their new perspectives in a dramatically different world.
We need your support to embrace this unique opportunity
to record their before & after voices.
Bruce and Bruce are determined to return to Bethlehem to film updated interviews with many of the original students. BruceS met with these students in October 2024, and they’re ‘all in’. To do this, we’re again asking for your help. Our ambition remains the same: to create an honest, uncompromised portrait of these Palestinians as they face and try to shape their future. The finished video will be submitted to film festivals, and made available to donors and relevant organizations for private screenings. We are hopeful that the students may be invited to the screenings to participate as panelists for audience discussions.
Background - 2022
In January of 2022, the two Bruces held a 5-day workshop in Bethlehem for eleven Palestinian students - men and women mostly in their 20’s - who were highly motivated toward civic engagement and personal/community empowerment. Students learned documentary videography and interviewing skills, and practiced their new skills as they filmed each other for the original “Voices of Palestine’s Future” video. Learning and working together, they created a safe space for open and honest conversation.
The original documentary video explored participants’ views on topics such as:
-
Personal and Communal goals.
-
Cultural/Social change, including Womens’ issues and Gender roles.
-
Education and Career Opportunities.
-
Civil Liberties, Democracy, and Civic Responsibility.
-
National goals and leadership.
Team
The team of the two Bruces are continuing to volunteer vast amounts of their time to this insightful video project. They both bring a lot of experience and passion to this documentary:
Producer / Director / Cameraman Bruce Borowsky is an award-winning professional photographer and filmmaker, specializing in corporate and documentary videos. His career started with serving as Chief Photographer for the City of Miami Beach, then moved to being the full-time assistant of renowned adventure photographer Galen Rowell; producing the Outdoor Channel’s “The Climbing Show”; and now producing award-winning documentaries for his Colorado based company, Pixel Mill Studios, filming in locations around the globe.
Co-producer/Writer/Photographer Bruce Shaffer shoots still photography for the project, and serves as lead scriptwriter, along with assisting with the video production. Bruce divides his time between Colorado and Jerusalem, where he’s active with a variety of NGOs and for 10 years has led photography workshops for Israeli and Palestinian youth. Bruce’s work has appeared in several publications, websites, documentaries, and gallery exhibitions..
The Crew. We’re hiring a local Palestinian production company for filming, sound and lighting, location prep and real-time translation services for the interviews. We have already worked with the company’s lead on editing the current cut of the video, and we are very pleased with their work. In this upcoming phase, Bruce and Bruce will be conducting the interviews with real-time Arabic/English translation.
Budget
The budget required to move forward and complete the video includes returning to Bethlehem, filming new interviews, group discussions, and B-roll (visual content), as well as new transcribing, translating and subtitling. Then there will be significant post-production editing to integrate the new material and tell the story well in a visually appealing manner.
The total amount we need to raise is $20,000. The funds will cover the items mentioned above, plus transportation, meals and lodging, supplies, local Palestinian project management and assistance, local studio space, archival footage, music and other miscellaneous expenses. Bruce Borowsky and Bruce Shaffer are still volunteering their time.
or
Send check to:
Boulder County Arts Alliance,
2400 28th Street, Suite 103
Boulder, CO 80301
Be sure to write “For Voices of Palestine Project” on your check.
We thank you for your generous support.
Bruce Borowsky & Bruce Shaffer