Judith Montell and Emmy Scharlatt
- We are two Jewish women filmmakers interested in women’s rights, non-violent activism and social issues throughout the globe.We are excited to be telling a different story about the relationships between Jews and Arabs. Our combined experience will enable us to create an important film that contributes increased knowledge of women who historically have been silenced.
Judith Montell has produced and directed documentaries dealing with issues of social justice, history, and education. Among them are Forever Activists: Stories from the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, nominated for an Academy Award; A Home On The Range: The Jewish Chicken Ranchers of Petaluma with Bonnie Burt; Timbrels and Torahs: Celebrating Women’s Wisdom with Miriam Chaya., Professional Revolutionaary: The Life of Saul Wellman and First Amendment On Trial: the Case of the Detroit Six. She directed and edited a series of 16 half hour dramatic programs in Esperanto, “Pasporto al la Tuta Mondo” for the purpose of teaching the language to aspiring Esperantists around the world. In The Image: Capturing the Struggle for Human Rights is in the spirit of these films, encouraging and teaching activism and featuring “ordinary” individuals working for a common good.
Emmy Scharlatt, started her film career as an assistant editor in Hollywood. Her feature film credits include: Year of The Dragon; Karate Kid II; Planes, Trains, and Automobiles; Steel Magnolias. She has worked as an editor, researcher, writer, and producer on documentaries and feature films since 1982. She edited Taino Maida’s Peace is Every Step, The Life and Work of Thich Nhat Hahn, and was Consultanting Editor and Associate Producer on Mark Eisner’s film on the life of Pablo Neruda, The Poets Calling. Emmy co-produced Four Questions For A Rabbi by Stacey Ross and Jay Rosenblatt, an 11-minute film that won the Directors Cut award at the 2008 Black Maria film festival. In the Image is her directorial debut. She holds a Master’s degree in Cultural Anthropology from San Francisco State University.
