Special Mention
| TITLE | Where Olive Trees Weep |
| COUNTRY | USA, Palestine, Israel |
| YEAR | 2024 |
| DIRECTOR | Zaya and Maurizio Benazzo |
| LENGHT | 1h 43′ |
| FORMAT | Digital |
| SOUND | Gabe Knox |
| EDITING | Finley MacNeil |
| MUSIC | Armand Amar |
Where Olive Trees Weep offers a searing window into the struggles and resilience of the Palestinian people under Israeli occupation. It explores themes of loss, trauma, and the quest for justice.
We follow, among others, Palestinian journalist and therapist Ashira Darwish, grassroots activist Ahed Tamimi, and Israeli journalist Amira Hass. We witness Dr. Gabor Maté offering trauma-healing work for a group of women who have been tortured in Israeli prisons.
Ancient landscapes bear deep scars, having witnessed the brutal reality of ancestral land confiscation, expulsions, imprisonment, home demolitions, water deprivation, and denial of basic human rights. Yet, through the veil of oppression, we catch a glimpse of resilience—deep roots that have carried the Palestinian people through decades of darkness and shattered lives.
This emotional journey bares the humanity of the oppressed while grappling with the question: what makes the oppressor so ruthlessly blind to its own cruelty?
Reasons For Award
The jury awards a special mention to Where Olive Treep for its powerful feminist perspective on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It foregrounds the voices of incredibly brave Palestinian women, who continue to resist despite facing immense challenges. It offers a clear and penetrating look at the historical and current struggles of Palestinians, showing the harsh reality of life under occupation.
Rather than presenting a “balanced” view, the film amplifies the stories of the oppressed, giving voice to those who are often ignored or silenced.
This timely film provides valuable context and insight into the cycle of trauma, with passionate testimonies that urge viewers to take action against the atrocities in Gaza. With excellent editing and storytelling, Where Olive Trees Weep weaves personal stories into a cohesive narrative, deepening our understanding of the conflict and its profound human toll. It is a powerful call for justice and action.
DIRECTOR
Zaya e Maurizio Benazzo
Zaya Benazzo is a filmmaker from Bulgaria with degrees in engineering, environmental science, and film. For many years, she worked as an environmental activist in Holland and Bulgaria, and later produced and directed several award-winning documentaries in Europe and the United States.
Maurizio Benazzo grew up in Italy, and in 1984 came to the United States on a ninety-eight-year-old sailing boat. He started working as an actor, model, and filmmaker, but his thirst for knowledge was only satisfied in 2001 upon encountering I Am That, the seminal work by Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, while he was in India shooting the award- winning documentary Short Cut to Nirvana.
Maurizio and Zaya merged their lifelong passions for science and mysticism when they met in 2007, and their first project together was filming the documentary Rays of the Absolute on the life and teachings of Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj. This project sparked their next level of creation and collaboration: SAND, a global community inspired by the timeless wisdom traditions, informed by modern science, and grounded in direct experience. In 2018 they met Gabor Mate and decided to make a film about him which led to the highly acclaimed “The Wisdom Of Trauma”
They live, work and play on the unceded ancestral lands of the Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo, in Sebastopol, California.
