In my childhood, Jerusalem was divided, cut off by the border — barbed wire, concrete walls, hatred and incomprehension. The heart of the city, around Jaffa Gate, became a frightening no-man's land.

As an adult, I sought to understand the world into which I was born. I felt the need to dig into the past, to follow the traces of my family, their private search for happiness in a violent, changing city.

I have chosen the personal path in filmmaking, filming like a painter or a photographer — recording my environment. It was like fighting back oblivion — fixing images, faces, stories, fragments of life that would otherwise have been erased from memory.