Heart of Jenin

The Heart of Jenin is the story of Ahmed Chatib, a Palestinian boy shot by Israeli soldiers whose father, Ismail Chatib, decided, within twelve hours, to donate his son’s organs to six Israeli children to save their lives.

One and a half years have passed since then. To find out how his deed changed the lives of the recipients’ families, Ismail travels throughout Israel, from its northern hills on the Lebanese border, past the contended Holy City of Jerusalem and up to the edge of the Negev Desert in the south.

The film is a trip through occupied territory and hearts occupied by prejudice. It leads us to the families who have learned to overcome their prejudices and to families who still speak of the misfortune of having to live with the organ of an Arab. It is the story of a humanitarian peace gesture that seemed, for a short instant, to prevail over the insoluble conflict between Israel and Palestine.