It’s been said that Jerusalem is the “closest place to God.” A new film for IMAX theaters takes you there.
Today, the city’s population is around 800,000 — 61 percent Jewish, 37 percent Muslim and 2 percent Christian. Jerusalem is the heart of three religious traditions, and a cradle to conflict.
Over the past 4,000 years, there have been 118 conflicts in and around Jerusalem. The city has been conquered 44 times, completely destroyed twice, and transferred from one religion to another some 11 times.
The film opens in theaters across the country beginning tomorrow.
“I have never seen a place like Jerusalem,” Daniel Ferguson, the producer and director of “Jerusalem” told Here & Now. “It challenges your assumptions about humanity, about belief, about the modern world, about the ancient world. I cannot get enough of it. I’ve been 14 times now, and I feel I’ve barely scratched the surface.”
Daniel Ferguson, producer, director and writer of the film “Jerusalem.”
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An aerial view of the Church of the Beatitudes by the Sea of Galilee near Capernaum, the traditional site where Jesus gave his Sermon on the Mount as told in the New Testament. (Jerusalem US LP)
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Al-Masjid al-Aqsa, meaning "The Furthest Mosque" is one of the three most important sites in Sunni Islam. At its centre is the Dome of the Rock. The entire area takes up one sixth of the walled city of Jerusalem. (Jerusalem US LP)
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An aerial view of the Jordan River, which lies about 30km (20mi) East of Jerusalem and flows from north of the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea. (Jerusalem US LP)
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A breathtaking aerial view of Masada, once a mountain fortress built by order of Herod the Great during the 1st Century BCE (BC). (Jerusalem US LP)
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Built into a canyon in the Judean Desert, the Mar Saba Monastery was founded by the Greek Orthodox monk, Saint Sabas, (Mar Saba in Arabic) in the 5th century CE (AD), and is still inhabited today. (Jerusalem US LP)
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Al-Masjid al-Aqsa, meaning "The Furthest Mosque" is one of the three most important sites in Sunni Islam. At its centre is the Dome of the Rock. The entire area takes up one sixth of the walled city of Jerusalem. (Duby Tal/Jerusalem US LP)
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The grey domes of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (in the foreground) mark the place where many Christians believe Jesus was crucified and buried. (Duby Tal/Jerusalem US LP)
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Jerusalem's iconic Citadel (now the Tower of David Museum of the History of Jerusalem) is a fortress with archaeological findings spanning over 2,000 years. (Dustin Farrell/Jerusalem US LP)
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Jerusalem's iconic Citadel (now the Tower of David Museum of the History of Jerusalem)is a fortress with archaeological findings spanning nearly 3,000 years. (Dustin Farrell/Jerusalem US LP)
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The Producers of JERUSALEM: from Left to Right:
Daniel Ferguson (also Writer/Director), George Duffield and Taran Davies. (Reed Smoot/Jerusalem US LP)
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