ABOUT THE FILM
In-Person: March 26
Virtual: Streaming March 31 – April 13
TORN delves into the controversy surrounding the “Kidnapped from Israel” poster campaign, a grassroots effort to raise awareness about the 251 hostages taken by Hamas on October 7, 2023. However, this struggle unfolds on the streets of New York City, far away from the Israeli-Gaza war zone. The posters quickly became polarizing symbols, sparking intense clashes between pro-Israel and pro-Palestine activists and turning city streets into battlegrounds of ideology and emotion.
The film explores the artists’ motivations in creating the posters and the intense debates ignited between those putting them up and tearing them down, unraveling the complexities of this intense “paper arm” proxy war fought thousands of miles from the actual conflict but offering a window onto its deep personal and political dimensions.
Director Bio:
Guest: Director Nim Shapira
Nim Shapira is an award-winning filmmaker whose innovative works were featured at TED 2023, Tribeca Film Festival, SIGGRAPH, Slamdance and Cannes’ Marché du Film. In 2021-2022, he served as a research fellow at the MIT Open Documentary Lab and in 2020 was an alumnus of NEW INC (the first museum-led incubator by the New Museum). He is a graduate of La Biennale di Venezia’s College Cinema for Virtual Reality.
Outreach Partner: StandWithUs Northwest
