The Wanted 18 opened the Fall 2015 Olive Branch Film Series on September 26. Following the screening, co-director and screenwriter Paul Cowan joined the audience via Skype for a fascinating discussion of what went on behind-the-scenes in producing the film.  If only we had thought to record the conversation…

Synopsis. During the first Palestinian intifada, residents of the West Bank town of Beit Sahour, near Bethlehem, wanted to create an independent dairy infrastructure. They bought 18 cows from an Israeli kibbutz, but the Israeli army called the farm collective “dangerous to the national security of the state of Israel” and quickly came in pursuit of the herd. Told via interviews, claymation, archival footage, and cartoons, The Wanted 18 depicts a particularly absurd moment in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “This is one of my favorite films that I’ve seen this year,” filmmaker Michael Moore said when the Best Documentary Award was presented to The Wanted 18 at the Traverse City Film Festival this August.

Directors: Amer Shomali, Paul Cowan. 2014. Canada/Palestine/France. 75 min. In Arabic, Hebrew, and English with English subtitles.

Best Documentary, Traverse City Film Festival 2015: http://wanted18doc.com/
Abu Dhabi Film Festival’s pick for Best Documentary from the Arab World in 2014

  Filmmaker Amer Shomali in Ramallah

• Press Release
• Flyer
• Trailer
• Review in The Nation
• The Electronic Intifada: Beit Sahour’s first intifada heroes celebrated in intelligent, funny
•Review in Middle East Eye
• Review in The Village Voice
• Article in The Guardian
• On Democracy Now!: The Wanted 18: Israel Blocks Palestinian Filmmaker from Making NYC Film Premiere About Intifada Cows