Synopsis:

In 1934, a Palestinian woman helped to rewrite human history by finding the first Neanderthal skeleton in the Middle East. But all we know of her is her first name: Yusra. Director Salim Abu Jabal goes on a search to try to understand who she was.

Director’s profile:

Salim Abu Jabal was born in the occupied Golan Heights. He studied theatre studies and Arabic literature at the University of Haifa, and later dramaturgy. After graduating from Haifa University, he stayed in Yafa City and later moved to Ramallah in the West Bank. There, he worked as a journalist, focusing on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through his writing as a cultural critic. After having worked in the film industry in many capacities, such as Casting Director, Salim first became known for his award-winning directorial debut, the documentary feature "Roshmia". The film was screened at IDFA, Dubai International Film Festival and many other festivals. Roshmia received the Special Jury Prize in Dubai, Best Documentary from MedFilm Festival in Rome and a further 11 awards from prestigious Arab and international festivals. Salim has also directed short documentaries such as “After 8 Years” (2019) and “The Language of Almonds” (2011). As a producer, he produced films such as “Palestine 87” (2021) by Bilal Alkhatib, “Anatomy of Love” (2021) by Riyad Dies, as well as his own film, “Roshmia”.

Producer’s profile:

Yasmin C. Rams is a film producer and director. She founded her first production company in 2011 and made short films with various directors. After collaborating on the short film “African Cowboy,” Yasmin decided to team up with Rodney Charles and they founded the production company Perennial Lens with offices in Germany and Los Angeles. With Perennial Lens, she produced films such as the feature-length documentary “In Exile,” directed by Myanmar director Tin Win Naing, which had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, screening at Busan, DOK Leipzig and other festivals world-wide. Her award-winning film “Go Heal Yourself” was produced in 2021 in co-production with ZDF/3sat, screened amongst others at DOC NYC and ran successfully in German cinemas