David Broza tunes into first film

The film, East Jerusalem/West Jerusalem, was shot during the making of his latest album of the same name.

Erez Miller and Henrique Cymerman direct the project, which is produced by Tel Aviv-based Gidi Avivi of Vice Versa Films.

Financiers include The Marc Rich Foundation, The abc* Foundation and private backers. The House of Marley also supports the project.

The film will have an 80-minute runtime (a 60-minute TV version will also be cut); it is in the final stages of post-production now for launch at an autumn film festival. A late 2014 or early 2015 theatrical launch will follow.

Broza told Screen here at the JFF that the documentary will have a “journalistic.” “We put the film in motion to explain the whole project,” he added, noting that 100 hours of footage were shot.

The music and film project is part of Broza’s push to unite Israelis and Palestinians through art and culture. “I want to be an entertainer but you can inspire people to act,” he said.

Broza worked on the album at Said Murad’s studio in East Jerusalem with Israeli, Palestinian and American musicians; Grammy winner Steve Earle produced the sessions. Wyclef Jean co-wrote the title track.

Other musicians featured on the project include The Jerusalem Youth Chorus, Palestinian hip-hop duo G-Town, Israeli body drumming troupe Myumana, Israeli musicians Gadi Seri, Yossi Sassi and Shaanan Street, and Palestinian-Israeli singer Mira Awad.

The eight-day production also included eight nights of feasts from local Israeli and Palestinian chefs; that will also be part of the documentary. “The food, wine and camaraderie brought everybody in,” Broza said.

Broza, who is trilingual in Hebrew, Spanish and English and lives part of the year in New York, has also bring bringing music classes to refugee camps. He works at camps including Shuafat on the outskirts of Jerusalem.