RULE OF STONE

Danae Elon | 2024 | English, Hebrew, Arabic | S.T French

Taking a critical look at Jerusalem’s development project in the 70s, this film reveals the invisible violence perpetrated against the Palestinian people.

Based in Montreal for several years, Danae Elon creates a very personal cinematic work to explore the complexity of her relationship with her native country, Israel. In The Rule of Stone, she questions the role and impact of a law dating from British colonialism requiring buildings in Jerusalem to be constructed using stone extracted from the land. She draws on revealing archives and interviews—notably with architect Moshe Safdie—to critically look at the city’s development project following the Six-Day War and the Naksa in 1967. Highlighting the erasure of Palestinian history and the gradual exclusion of its people, this film reveals the contrasts and often invisible violence of its buildings and architecture. Narrated periodically by the filmmaker, this film is a sobering reflection on individual responsibility, the development of an ideological discourse, and the creation of a hegemonic history.