Beyond Mountains of Darkness

In 2000 director Tszach Nissenboim set off to see a family of Jewish settlers, who had been living for several decades in the settlement of Ofra not far from Ramallah and here he filmed a very intimate look at their daily life. From the outset we are informed that two years later the grandmother Noa Azon, together with her five-year-old granddaughter Gal, will both be killed in a suicide bomb attack in Jerusalem. During the attack Noa's daughter, Pnina Azon, will also be seriously injured along with her two-year-old son. With shivers running down our spine we watch the everyday joy and sorrow of a family, who unlike us does not have the slightest idea about their tragic fate. "Almost every third day someone from a Jewish settlement loses their life. How can we live this way?" asks Noa, fully venting her emotions marked by permanent fear for her life as well as for the members of her family. News of an attack on a bus full of Jewish settlers traveling from Ofra only validates her fears. With high expectations everyone awaits the results of the Israeli election in February of 2001 and hopes that the election winner will be able to ensure the coveted peace. The fatal day of June 19, 2002 is however relentlessly approaching.