Saturday, June 21-------How does one make a film based in a divided East Jerusalem that is not overtly political? That was the challenge for French director Georgi Lazarevski in his documentary film THS WAY UP, which had its East Coast Premiere at SILVERDOCS yesterday.

The film is set in the Our Lady of Sorrows nursing home in East Jerusalem, a venerable (if delapidated) institution for aging Catholic Palestinians. Residents once had a sweeping view of the city of Jerusalem but that has been blocked by the construction of a 12 foot wall, designed to seperate Israelis and Palestinians. As it happens, the wall is constructed right next to the nursing home, not only cutting out their view but making it difficult and treacherous for family visitors to spend time with their aging relatives.

The poignant stories in the film (of aging, mortality, disappointment and family estrangement) unfold as the wall is in its final construction phase, prompting geographical divisions and personal ones, as well. The difficulty of just moving about is hauntingly covered, giving us viewers an appreciation of our own freedom of movement. Although the wall is a dominant force in the film, the nursing home residents are equally potent. Their routines, eccentricities, mannerisms and political views all come to the fore in shocking and even humorous ways. They are living in an age of crisis at the end of their lives, and each faces the turmoil in his or her own way.

A graduate of the National Cinema School Louis Lumiere in Paris, Lazarevski mainly works as a cinematographer for other film directors, and the delicacy of his camerawork in his own film creates a moving pallette of colors, shapes and shadows. This compliments the ambivalence of the main characters, as they look back longingly to their earlier lives, while they face the future with great uncertainty and endless questioning.

"It was difficult to find the money for a more intimate film, almost non-political film on the Arab/Israeli conflict", Lazarevski shared at a post-screening question and answer session. "I went back to Jerusalem twice, once for a month and the other time for three weeks, to finish the project. I actually lived at the nursing home, so that I could gain the trust of the inhabitants and the nuns who cared for them. Only when I returned to France and was able to show the footage that I had shot did I finally find monies from Arte, mainly based on the success of my previous film (VOYAGE EN SEUL MAJEUR). Now Il have been able to show the film at festivals all over the world, and the response has been very positive because it is not another political film about this troubled subject."

For more information on the film, log on to the website of www.arturomio.com

Sandy Mandelberger, SILVERDOCS Dailies Editor