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Screening will start at 12:00 Noon US EDT; 19:00 Palestine, 18:00 Europe, Released 2013, Running Time 73 minutes, English language with English subtitles. The film screening will be followed by a discussion with film directors by Gina M. Angelone, and Mouna B. Stewart.

Set against the backdrop of the beautiful, historic and ancient city of Akka in northern Palestine, “It’s Better To Jump” explores this centuries-old seaport and gives a voice to the Palestinian families at risk of expulsion despite generations of calling this land home.

Synopsis

The People and the Olive is an inspiring feature-length documentary about the daily struggles and joys of Palestinian olive farmers. When a group of American ultra-marathoners sets out to run 129 miles in 5 days across the West Bank, they discover that in replanting uprooted olive trees they are planting hope and building cultural bridges.

Gina M. Angelone

About Gina M. Angelone
Director / Producer / Writer

As a veteran filmmaker and writer, Gina's TV credits include founding Producer of 19-time Emmy nominee and one time winner, “Inside the Actors Studio" (Bravo). Gina was also Writer-Producer-Director of “Connections: Preserving America’s Landscape Legacy” with Angela Lansbury (PBS). Her documentary “René & I” (NBC), made with a grant from New York Women in Film, won an Emmy, two Audience Awards, a Human Rights Award and continues in worldwide distribution.

Gina wrote and directed the series, “Defining Beauty” for Disney/MAKER Studios, directed six 90-minute biographies on master designers, and is currently making her own documentary on urban visionaries, Laurie Olin and Frank Gehry.

In exhibit space, Gina created the permanent centerpiece film for the Hall of Planet Earth at the American Museum of Natural History, interactive videos for Universal Studios/Disney World, and a traveling exhibit film on Indonesia for the Smithsonian Institute. In theater, Gina worked with music legend, Phil Ramone, and was Associate Producer of “Raffi on Broadway” (Gershwin Theatre) made for the Disney Channel and MCA Home Video.

Gina’s work has received grants from the National Endowment of the Arts, the Graham Foundation and The Philadelphia Foundation, Lincoln City Fellowship/Speranza Foundation and the American Academy of Arts and Letters. She is a published, award-winning author, and on the Board of Directors at the BAU Institute.

Mouna B. Stewart

Mouna B. Stewart
Director / Producer

Mouna B. Stewart is an artist who makes her feature film debut as a filmmaker with It’s Better To Jump.

A Palestinian herself, she is fluent in both Arabic and English and played a central role in the project as a translator, interviewer and Producer, gaining access and entrée to people and places that would otherwise be inaccessible.

Her collateral as a native and insights into the culture created an instant bond of trust with all the interviewees. Mouna is very

dedicated to the subject matter as well as a steadfast researcher.