As her name suggests, Yun Suh was not the most obvious candidate to make a documentary about Israel and the Palestinians. Yet her lack of Jewish or Muslim roots, or knowledge of Hebrew or Arabic, turned out to be an asset.
“It took an outsider to make this film,” the Korean-born, Berkeley-based filmmaker declares about “City of Borders,” which plays Tuesday, June 23 in Frame-line 33, the S.F. International LGBT Film Festival.
“At the beginning of the process, I was criticized for being an outsider. But that’s a comfortable position for me to be in, because that’s where I’ve always been in my life.”
As a child, Suh lived in constant fear of the North Koreans invading. At age 8 when her family moved to the United States, she suddenly found herself part of a minority, and viewed with suspicion and wariness.
Suh was sent to the Mideast in 2001 to report on the intifada for Pacifica radio. Told about a bar in Jerusalem that held a weekly gay night, she found the most diverse gathering in town — and the idea for a documentary.
“City of Borders” centers on a handful of characters, including: a gay Jerusalem city councilman who operates the bar, a nationalistic gay settler, a young Palestinian who takes great risks to visit the bar from the West Bank and a Israeli-Palestinian lesbian couple that doesn’t see eye-to-eye.
“I look at all the different layers,” Suh explains. “It’s a cross-section of race, religion, sexuality and faith.”
Suh started out as a biology pre-med major at U.C. Berkeley with no background in film. After her Pacifica stint, she took a job as an assignment editor at KRON-TV. Her growing desire to make a long-form piece compelled her to return to Jerusalem six times over a two-year period to follow the characters in “City of Borders.”
She debuted her beautifully crafted, 66-minute portrait in February at the Berlin Film Festival, followed by the local premiere at the San Francisco International Film Festival in April. The screening next week is sponsored by the Jewish Federation and co-presented by the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival.
Suh is in talks with distributors for a limited theatrical release, with a PBS broadcast likely in the cards for 2010. This is heady success for a first-time filmmaker, but Suh is up to the challenges.
“I’ve become like a spokesperson for gay issues in the Middle East,” she says, “which is a very bizarre position to be in. I’m happy to refer people to other experts, and to further the discussion.“
“City of Borders” is a bittersweet yet hopeful film that, unlike most docs about Israelis and Palestinians, leaves moviegoers optimistic about the prospects for coexistence.
“It’s very rare that people feel inspired after seeing a film about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” Suh points out. “I believe it comes from the fact that I’m always trying to show common ground, and commonality.”
She adds, “Often we focus on what makes us different rather than what we have in common. Ultimately it’s a human story about our great need to belong and to be accepted for who we are.”
“City of Borders” screens at 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 23 at the Roxie Theater, 3117 16th St., S.F. $9-10. For Frameline 33 full schedule, tickets or more information: www.frameline.org. Advance tickets also at Superstar Satellite, 474 Castro St., S.F.