J. (SAN FRANCISCO) -- The Chilean-born director, who has lived in the Bay Area since about 2013, visited Israel for the first time while working as the cinematographer on another Bay Area film, The Objector, directed by Molly Stuart. He met Hircefeld while on the shoot.
“For me, as a camera person, our connection was quick,” Gallegos said. “I was moved that he was trying to do some good for people that needed protection. One of my goals was to inspire people. It’s a call to action.”
Stuart agreed to serve as producer of Gallegos’ 12-minute short, which was executive-produced by Daniel Bernardi, Gallegos’ former film professor at San Francisco State and founder of El Dorado Films. It has been screened at several small film festivals, but this will be its California premiere and first showing at a Jewish film festival. SFJFF programmers went after it with great interest.
“We felt it was a very powerful film about someone who goes through a political transformation and is willing to put his body on the line,” said program director Jay Rosenblatt. “The scene where settlers are attacking the protesters and throwing stones at them and at Guy was quite visceral and gives us a strong sense of the intensity of the conflict. It felt as if the stones were coming at us, the viewers. We were also thrilled to support a local SFSU filmmaker.”