Cries from Ramah

Aftershock

The Fuse

Lament

Director Loren Chadima put her heart and soul into creating this apolitical film that tracks the aftermath of a Tel Aviv suicide bombing from the perspective of two mothers, Israeli and Palestinian. Her goal was not to make a political statement or moral judgment, but to find a way to see their stories through compassionate eyes.

This was my first foreign language film – although it was shot just outside of Los Angeles all the actors were either Palestinian or Israeli, and the dialog was subtitled. I was unsure of how to tackle this project at first. My concern was that in trying to lend an “authentic” atmosphere, I would instead create something disrespectful of the music and culture of the region. Ultimately, I decided not to draw on musical examples, but instead listen to the languages in the film as music, and play off the rhythms, dynamics and articulations I heard there.