Torn - June 17, 2025 @ 5:30 PM
Capitol Theatre | Documentary | 75 Minutes | English
Twenty months after the Hamas attack on Israel and Israel’s military response, the unresolved war in Gaza continues to motivate protest and counter-protest activities on campuses and on the streets in Europe and North America. This documentary film takes place on the streets of New York, the city with the largest population of Jewish and Muslim residents outside of Israel. It shows the intense debates ignited by the “Kidnapped from Israel” poster campaign, a grassroots effort to raise awareness of the plight of the 240 hostages taken by Hamas. These posters quickly became polarizing symbols, sparking intense clashes between pro-Israel and pro-Palestine activists which turned New York City's streets into battlegrounds of ideology and emotion. The film explores the motivations behind activists putting up and tearing down the posters, unraveling the complexities of this intense paper proxy war, fought thousands of miles from the actual conflict. Although the film is more able to interview Jewish friends and families of hostages, it tries to give the pro-Palestinian activists opportunity to show their support for the Gazans who are suffering as well, but mostly shows the wall of misunderstanding separating those putting up the posters from those tearing them down. With an in-your-face street-level approach, Torn reveals the emotional depth behind every poster put up and taken down.
Capitol Theatre | Documentary | 75 Minutes | English
Twenty months after the Hamas attack on Israel and Israel’s military response, the unresolved war in Gaza continues to motivate protest and counter-protest activities on campuses and on the streets in Europe and North America. This documentary film takes place on the streets of New York, the city with the largest population of Jewish and Muslim residents outside of Israel. It shows the intense debates ignited by the “Kidnapped from Israel” poster campaign, a grassroots effort to raise awareness of the plight of the 240 hostages taken by Hamas. These posters quickly became polarizing symbols, sparking intense clashes between pro-Israel and pro-Palestine activists which turned New York City's streets into battlegrounds of ideology and emotion. The film explores the motivations behind activists putting up and tearing down the posters, unraveling the complexities of this intense paper proxy war, fought thousands of miles from the actual conflict. Although the film is more able to interview Jewish friends and families of hostages, it tries to give the pro-Palestinian activists opportunity to show their support for the Gazans who are suffering as well, but mostly shows the wall of misunderstanding separating those putting up the posters from those tearing them down. With an in-your-face street-level approach, Torn reveals the emotional depth behind every poster put up and taken down.
Capitol Theatre | Documentary | 75 Minutes | English
Twenty months after the Hamas attack on Israel and Israel’s military response, the unresolved war in Gaza continues to motivate protest and counter-protest activities on campuses and on the streets in Europe and North America. This documentary film takes place on the streets of New York, the city with the largest population of Jewish and Muslim residents outside of Israel. It shows the intense debates ignited by the “Kidnapped from Israel” poster campaign, a grassroots effort to raise awareness of the plight of the 240 hostages taken by Hamas. These posters quickly became polarizing symbols, sparking intense clashes between pro-Israel and pro-Palestine activists which turned New York City's streets into battlegrounds of ideology and emotion. The film explores the motivations behind activists putting up and tearing down the posters, unraveling the complexities of this intense paper proxy war, fought thousands of miles from the actual conflict. Although the film is more able to interview Jewish friends and families of hostages, it tries to give the pro-Palestinian activists opportunity to show their support for the Gazans who are suffering as well, but mostly shows the wall of misunderstanding separating those putting up the posters from those tearing them down. With an in-your-face street-level approach, Torn reveals the emotional depth behind every poster put up and taken down.