Advocate (2019) | Official Trailer | Rachel Leah Jones | Philippe Bellaiche | Lea Tsemel

Lea Tsemel defends Palestinians: from feminists to fundamentalists, from non-violent demonstrators to armed militants. As a Jewish-Israeli lawyer who has represented political prisoners for five decades, Tsemel, in her tireless quest for justice, pushes the praxis of a human rights defender to its limits.

When they aren’t busy chasing Tsemel through the courthouse halls, directing duo Rachel Leah Jones and Philippe Bellaiche assume the privileged position of a fly on the wall in Tsemel’s office, where a year of documenting is like gathering a lifetime of evidence. This evidence attests to the wrongs of occupation but also to the faults of those who try to resist it, the failings of those who try to defend them, and the fundamental flaws of a legal system that purports to serve justice but in fact serves the powers that be.

Directors: Philippe Bellaiche, Rachel Leah Jones
Writer: Rachel Leah Jones (Writer)
Stars: Lea Tsemel