On the 16th of September, I was invited by the Israeli filmmaker Karin Kainer to present her documentary ‘Hot Spot’ at the ‘Visioni dal Mondo’ film festival in Milano. While I was working at EMIS and at the Charney Center in 2020 Karin started filming a documentary about some of the students of EMIS. I helped her film some of the scenes and did some other tasks related to the production of her project. At the same time, I was filming ‘Humans of EMIS’, so me filming a documentary became part of her story. A story inside a story, isn’t this what EMIS is all about? Personal stories that take place within larger and larger narratives of conflict and identity.

Karin’s project is a delicate portrayal of some of the students, bringing to light all the struggles they face while being teenagers in an international school in a zone of conflict. There are love stories, there are fights, there are tears and there are laughs. Karin followed the students of the Class of 2021 even after they graduated, trying to understand whether the bonds they formed will survive outside of the bubble, once they enter ‘the real world’.

Speaking at a film festival was a great learning experience for me, even if I wasn’t presenting one of my films. I was happy to share how much I changed thanks to the experiences I had at EMIS and working with the Charney Center. It was interesting to be surrounded by experts of the documentary industry and get a glimpse into a professional world that I feel like I’m starting to be a part of. But most of all, it was heartwarming to see how the dream of EMIS always leaves people speechless and intrigued, giving them a bit of hope in a world that is increasingly moving away from peace and dialogue.