Under the auspices of the Palestinian American Congress, Palestinian filmmaker Yahya Barakat visited U.S. college campuses during April and May to show his new documentary, Rachel: An American Conscience.
More than 70 Orange County civic leaders and Latino and Arab activists gathered March 30 in the Yorba Linda home of Said and Joanne Abuqartoumy to view the film.
Barakat, who teaches TV production, cinematography and filmmaking at al-Quds University, told the Washington Report that he began work on the documentary the instant he learned Corrie had been crushed to death by an Israeli-driven Caterpillar bulldozer.
This documentary offers rare footage of Rachel talking to a camera and describing Israeli human rights violations against a Palestinian civilian population.
The film opens with grim images of dinosaur-like Caterpillar bulldozers turning urban Rafah into a garbage pile of destroyed buildings. It continues with interviews of Rachel’s fellow International Solidarity Movement volunteers, and concludes with comments from her parents.
According to Barakat, American students on campuses in Berkeley, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Memphis and San Francisco campuses have been moved by the film. These writers agree it is the most in-depth investigation into Corrie’s murder.
Filmography
Rachel: An American Conscience (2005)
In God's House, 42', Documentary (Palestine, 2002)
