AWAKE ZION: REGGAE & JEWS

New York City Premiere at the 2005 Margaret Mead Film & Video Festival
American Museum of Natural History
- Closing Night Film -

Co-Presented by Heeb Magazine
Sunday, Nov 6, 2005 at 8:15 p.m. - Kaufmann Theatre
Live Music and Closing Night Party to follow
Central Park West at 79th street
(Repeat screening on Saturday, Nov 12 at 2:00 pm)

New York City, NY, - After three years, three countries, and tons of reggae, Awake Zion will have its official New York City premiere at the Margaret Mead Film & Video Festival at the Museum of Natural History. Awake Zion is a documentary that explores the unsuspecting relationship between Reggae and Judaism, and travels from the alleys of Crown Heights, Brooklyn and the hills of Jamaica, to the festivals of San Francisco and the old city of Jerusalem. Rabbis and Rastas alike are heard, as the documentary features characters like New York's own Matisyahu, the Hasidic dancehall superstar; Nigel the Admore, an Orthodox Jamaican Jew who brought dancehall reggae to Israel; and Jamaican elders from one of the oldest sects of Rastafari. A sold out New York City audience saw the short version at Makor in November 2003. "Two years and two countries later," Haim says, "I am delighted to bring back to New York what for me became the full awakening."

Awake Zion is a story about unsuspecting cultural convergence; a story about shared symbols and themes by people who might seem to be on opposite ends of the spiritual spectrum. Many conversations about Black and Jewish cultures tend to be shrouded in conflict and adversity. Awake Zion hopes to shed light on the positive relationship that may exist there behind the music, behind the laws, and behind the history. Through the themes of music, roots and culture, Awake Zion is an audio-visual dialogue that aims to expose the senselessness of hate or intolerance by highlighting kinship in the face of difference.

Screenings include: San Francisco Jewish Film Festival (July 2004); Montreal Jewish Film Festival (May 2004); Black Point Film Festival, (April 2004) - Award: Honorable Mention for Best Documentary Short); Jewish Eye Festival, Tel Aviv (November 2004); Miami Museum of Science (March 2004); Makor screening room, NYC (January 2004); DC Independent Film Festival (April 2005); Rome Independent Film Festival (April 2005); Vancouver Jewish Film Festival (April 2005); Toronto Jewish Film Festival (May 2005); San Francisco Documentary Film Festival (May 2005); Maui Film Festival (June 2005); Barcelona Jewish Film Festival (June 2005) Tahoe/Reno International Film Festival (August 2005); Sao Paolo Jewish Film Festival (August 2005); Boston Jewish Film Festival (November 2005); Mar de Plata Independent Film Festival (November 2006).