L.A. Jewish Film Fest Winner about to release

It won for Best Dramatic Feature at the 2006 LA Jewish Film Fest and if this trailer is anything to go by, O' Jerusalem will be a movie many Jews and Arabs will be discussing long after it hits North American theatres this October.

Of course, if you don't like historical period pieces or high melodrama, this movie probably won't be for you. But here's what the blurb has to say on the Apple movie trailer site:

O Jerusalem meticulously re-creates the historic struggle surrounding the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. At the center of these events are two young, American friends - one Jewish, the other Arab. The film is told from the alternating viewpoints of the Jews, Arabs and Brits, all of whom collide in their fight for the control of Jerusalem while bringing to the forefront themes of courage, terrorism, deprivation, politics and a strong sense of morality. Their involvement takes them from the streets of New York to The Holy Land, where they risk their lives - making incredible sacrifices along the way - to fight for what they believe in, as the city of their dreams teeters on the brink of destruction. The film, based on historical accounts from the best-selling novel O Jerusalem, written by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre, offers a rich background to an explosive conflict that echoes the situation in the Middle East today.

And it even has Bilbo Baggins playing Ben Gurion. Cool.