"Rachel"
Barcelona Jewish Film Festival
Filmoteca de Catalunya Plaça Salvador Seguí 1-9, 08001 Barcelona
Film still from "Rachel," directed by Simone Bitton (France, Belgium, 2009).
Her name was Rachel Corrie. She was 23 and believed her American nationality would be enough to make her an effective human shield. A member of the International Solidarity Movement, she had traveled to Gaza to help protect Palestinian homes threatened with demolition. On March 16, 2003, in Gaza, she was crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer. Rachel is an inquiry built from the emails she sent home and the testimonies of those who knew her. In the eight weeks she had left to live, she discovered what no documentary could ever have taught her.
Simone Bitton is an award-winning filmmaker whose films engage with the complexities of history, identity, and political struggle. Her films have won numerous awards, including the César Award, the Marseille Festival of Documentary Film Award, and the Sundance Film Festival, Special Jury Prize.
As a Jewish French-Moroccan filmmaker and activist, Bitton has dared to criticize human rights abuses and has resisted dominant narratives that seek to inscribe Zionism on the Jewish diaspora. Through her thoughtful exploration of Middle Eastern and North African histories, Bitton offers vital, nuanced perspectives that confront questions of justice, memory, and identity.
Film will be screened in original version with subtitles in Catalan.
A film in the 2026 edition of the Barcelona Jewish Film Festival.
October Film Festivals in and around Barcelona
October’s calendar is packed with an impressive list of film festivals in and around the city. Check out our article October Film Festivals in and around Barcelona where you'll find gritty investigative documentaries, hair-raising fantasy and horror flicks and everything in between!
For more events check our online events calendar.