Mira Awad was born in Rameh village in Galilee, Israel to an Arab Christian father from the Galilee, and a Bulgarian Christian mother. She studied at the Rimon School of Jazz and Contemporary Music in Ramat HaSharon, and at the Body Theatre School. Awad became an instant star on Israeli television after appearing in the sit-com Arab Labor. She also appeared in The Bubble, a film by director Eytan Fox. She sang the songs for the films Forgiveness (directed by Udi Aloni), and Lemon Tree (directed by Eran Riklis). In 2006 she appeared as an IDF soldier in the Cameri production of a musical adaptation of Maya Arad’s novel in verse “Another Place, a Foreign City”. Awad represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, along with Achinoam Nini (Noa). Awad was the first Arab-Israeli singer to represent Israel in the contest.

Emily Bazelon is a staff writer at the New York Times Magazine and author of the national bestseller Sticks and Stones: Defeating the Culture of Bullying and Rediscovering the Power of Character and Empathy. She is also the Truman Capote Fellow for Creative Writing and Law at Yale Law School and a frequent guest on the Colbert Report.
Before joining the Times, Bazelon worked for nine years as a senior editor at Slate. She has been a Soros media fellow, an editor and writer at Legal Affairs magazine, and a law clerk on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit. Her writing has appeared in the Atlantic, O Magazine, and the Washington Post, among other publications. Bazelon is a graduate of Yale College and Yale Law School.

Israeli superstar David Broza has been considered one of the most dynamic and vibrant performers in the singer/songwriter world.
His charismatic and energetic performances have brought to worldwide audiences, a fusion of the three different countries in which he was raised: Israel, Spain, and England, filling concert halls with his famous guitar playing, ranging from flamenco flavored rhythmic and percussion techniques, to whirlwind finger picking, to a signature rock and roll sound. Broza unites the three worlds by utilizing his ability to take on the troubadour tradition, up to now, featuring lyrics of the worlds’ greatest poets.
More than a singer/songwriter, David Broza is also well known for his commitment and dedication to several humanitarian causes, predominantly, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Avi Goldstein co-founded SocDoc Studios to produce story-driven films that engage audiences with social issues. He recently completed the documentary film FIRE LINES (to be distributed by Journeyman Pictures) with the Ma’an Network in Bethlehem and Common Ground Productions. Avi received an AB in Psychology from Princeton University and was previously a consultant at Vantage Partners, a Boston-based negotiation and relationship management consulting firm spun out of the Harvard Negotiation Project. He holds an MA in Non-Profit Management and Leadership, and facilitates interest-based negotiation and problem-solving skills workshops for high schools students.

Sayed Kashua was born in Tira in the Triangle region of Israel. He studied sociology and philosophy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Kashua writes satiric columns in Hebrew for Haaretz newspaper and a local Jerusalem weekly, HaIr. In a humorous, tongue-in-cheek style, Kashua addresses the problems faced by Arabs in Israel, caught between two worlds. Kashua’s works Dancing Arabs (2002), and Let it be Morning (2006) had been translated and published throughout the world. His book Second Person (2010) was published in Israel and instantly became best seller. Most recently, the film adaptation of his book Dancing Arabs premiered at the Jerusalem Film Festival.

Anat Kerem-Angel,Ph.D (Biochemistry), is the initiator of the documentary “Almost Friends” and it’s co-creator. After 18 years of scientific academy career and expert in the biomedical industry, Anat has moved to the Physic- Psychotherapy field, and has been involved with her husband ,(Mr Udi Angel, Chairman) in several voluntary community ventures in Israel , dealing with disabled children’s health (Variety Israel ) and a Social learning network program – “Pass the Ward”. Today, in parallel to her practice, Anat is working on a new documentary project in the educational field.

Dror Moreh began his career as a D.O.P and became one of Israel’s leading cinematographers. He shot a number of feature films, including Urban Feel (Berlin official competition, 1998), Desperado Square (Winner of the Best Film Award at the Montpelier Film Festival), and many more. Moreh has also worked as a D.O.P for many award-winning documentaries in Israel, including One Shot, Asesino, and Underdog: A War Movie. During that time, he also directed several projects. Moreh began working as fulltime director several years ago. His projects include: The Gatekeepers: A feature-length documentary revolving around intimate dialogues with six former heads of the Shin Bet, Israel’s secret service. The Rose: A 6-part documentary series about the murder of a young girl. To Be Mayumana: A documentary film portraying an Israeli dance group heading to New York for their world premiere. Under Cover: A 4-part docudrama about undercover police officers. Sharon: A feature-length documentary about the reasons why Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, considered the “Father of Israeli settlements in the Occupied Territories,” agreed to implement the Gaza Disengagement Plan. The film was selected for the official Panorama program at the 58th Berlin Film Festival.

One of Israel’s most acclaimed stage and screen actor, screenwriter and comedian, Menashe Noy was first introduced to Israeli audiences after graduating from Tel Aviv University Film Department, in the satiric TV show The Cameri Quintet. He has since starred in numerous leading rolls in theater and cinema, including Lovesick on Nana St, Year Zero, The Time that Remains, The Bourgeoisie , Testimony, Sweets, The Dove Flyer and Gett.

Anat Saragusti is the director of B’Tselem USA. A leading Israeli journalist and social activist, Anat co-founded Israel’s Channel 2 TV News Company. During her fifteen-year tenure with Channel 2 she was the editor of Israel’s leading news program, a weekly news wrap-up called “Friday Studio.”
An expert on policies affecting the occupied Palestinian territories, Anat has extensive field experience in both the Gaza Strip and Sderot, a nearby Israeli city across the Green Line. Most recently, she served as the executive director of Agenda: Israeli Center for Strategic Communication, which provides media expertise to social change organizations.
Anat’s family has lived in the Jerusalem environs for 500 years. She holds a master’s degree in law from Tel Aviv University and a diploma in conflict resolution from the University of Maryland.

A proud Oakland native, Sam grew up with a passion to create. In 2007, driven by his love for film, he moved to Los Angeles to develop his skills within the industry. He got a job in television production and gained valuable work experience. Sam’s vision is to create content that inspires, empowers, and promotes positive social change. When he visited The Village of Peace for the first time, he realized that implementing his work experience to share the powerful story of the African-Hebrew Israelites would be a natural marriage.

David Viola has a long career in documentary and narrative filmmaking. His documentary credits include TRUMBO, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and was released theatrically across the United States and the world in 2008. That film won a National Board of Review award, and was also broadcast on the “American Masters” series on PBS and released on DVD. He also produced DOWNTOWN CALLING, a documentary that screened at film festivals around the world including HBO’s New York Latino Film Festival and the London East End Film Festival. David has worked in feature film development with Artisan Entertainment (BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB), and Julia Robert’s production company (MONA LISA SMILE). David earned a Master’s degree in International Relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, a Bachelor’s degree from SUNY Binghamton, and is currently a PhD candidate in history at the CUNY Graduate Center.