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Jen Heck and Lina Qadri Special Guests on It’s A Question Of Balance with Ruth Copland Saturday 28th May 8-9 PM

This week as her special guests from the arts Ruth Copland is pleased to be interviewing Jen Heck and Lina Qadri from the award-winning film, The Promised Band. The film is a nontraditional documentary about an unlikely group of women from opposite sides of the Israeli/Palestinian border who are set on an unexpected path when an American friend, the award-winning film-maker Jen Heck, makes them an offer they can’t refuse: to meet. But in a region where sides are separated not by just a 26-foot physical separation wall but a social one, meeting is nearly impossible: most Palestinian citizens are barred from entering Israel, and Israeli citizens fear meeting violence upon entering the West Bank. The women decide that, despite their dubious musical talent, a music group is the best cover story to meet and interact with each other. The unlikely musicians have to cross the border, repeatedly and often illegally. They have to get their instruments through checkpoints, secure permits to travel when possible, and find safe spaces to meet. Despite their initial distrust, the women connect. As each learns more about the other, they come to understand the stakes between their countries in a whole new way. Together, they realize that while they have nothing to fear from each other, peace may be impossible in a place where their friendship is criminalized, and women’s voices can be easily drowned out. Ruth talks to the award-winning director of the film, Jen Heck, and one of the lead protagonists from Palestine, Lina Qadri. The Promised Band won Best Documentary and the Canon-Atomos Documentary Filmmaker Award at Cinequest 2016.

Tune in Saturday 8-9 PM to find out more about the life and art of Jen Heck and Lina Qadri. For more info and to hear previous shows visit www.itsaquestionofbalance.com

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