Synopsis: UnReined is the story of Nancy Zeitlin, an Israeli Equestrian champion who spent 10 years building the Palestinian Equestrian Team. Her personal life also reflects the turmoil of Israeli society; she married a Christian, an ultra orthodox Jew and then a Palestinian.

Genre

Rated

Language

Run Time

Subtitles

Directed by

Co-Director Naomi Guttman-Bass: This film project started by chance. A few years ago I was looking for a horseback riding instructor and a riding friend told me that a new instructor was working at a nearby stable. I went to observe a lesson and chat with the instructor, Nancy Zeitlin. I had heard the name Nancy in my riding world, but didn’t really know who she was. After meeting her, she agreed to take me on as a student, in spite of my strictly amateur status. From our first lesson there were hints of an interesting history, and each week more was revealed as I rode around the arena. Every lesson was a wonderful riding experience and a new installment of her story. With each revelation, I found myself saying ‘what???’ The ‘what???’ factor led me to the idea of making a documentary about Nancy. It took a while for her to agree to expose her story to the public, to trust me and feel that it was time. After she agreed, I interested my old friend Marcia Rock, an independent producer and Director of News and Documentary at NYU Journalism, in the project. We have worked on every aspect together, Jerusalem-New York, with Marcia joining us here in Israel for a few weeks of filming. The filming took over two years, as I tagged along with Nancy on her journeys all over the country, documenting her life and her people. Marcia handled the editing in New York, and I joined her both online and in hops over the Atlantic Ocean. It is four years since I first started thinking about the film ‘Unreined’, to the final product. We hope that you enjoy it.

Marcia Rock is a documentary filmmaker, professor and Director of News and Documentary at NYU Journalism. Her documentaries cover international dilemmas women’s issues and personal perspectives. She recently completed three films on veteran issues and two with Patricia Lee Stotter. Soldiers Period debunks myths about PMS and SERVICE: When Women Come Marching Home follows women transitioning from active duty to civilian life and won a NY Emmy. Warriors Return focuses on Navajo veterans. She’s covered Irish American and Northern Irish history producing Daughters of the Troubles: Belfast Stories (1997) that won many awards and McSorley’s New York, that chronicles the history of the NY Irish through the bar and won a NY Emmy. Her personal documentary, Dancing with My Father, reflects on how adult love is shaped by what a child learns at home. It also includes a history of the Jews of Cleveland. Surrender Tango explores how Tango can be a metaphor for relationships. Early work includes, Village Writers: the Bohemian Legacy (1990), Reynolds Price: a Writer’s Inheritance (1989) and the Singing Angels to China in 1982 that won a Cleveland Emmy (1983). A seminal moment in her career was working with Marlene Sanders on the book, Waiting for Primetime: The Women of Television News. A pioneer for women in broadcast journalism, Sanders was the first woman to anchor a newscast

Country of Origin

Production Year

Official Website