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Oct. 6, 2006
Close encounters in peace
Film follows both sides in their quest to end violence.
BAILA LAZARUS
As long as there has been conflict in the Middle East, there have
been individuals trying to alleviate it, whether through international
peace processes, educational programs or discussion groups. But
rarely do you see people whose family members have been killed in
the violence – who have the most reason to hate the "enemy"
– embracing such dialogue. So it's both refreshing and inspiring
to see such individuals, working alongside others who have not lost
family members, reaching out to embrace a different kind of solution;
sending a message that violence does not have to beget violence,
and that we can overcome feelings of anger and hatred.
This is the view captured in Encounter Point, one of the
more hopeful films on Middle East conflict at this year's Vancouver
International Film Festival (VIFF).
Directed by Ronit Avni and Julia Bacha, the film hops back and forth
over the Green Line, portraying Israelis and Palestinians who deliberate
with each other, as well as with members of their own communities,
trying to dispel the anger that exists.
In the film, we meet members of the Bereaved Families Forum, Seeds
of Peace and Windows magazine, among others, and follow them
as they encounter both resistance and acceptance in what seems to
be a monumental task.
The Independent sat down with director Avni at VIFF to talk
about the film, which has screened in Israel, in the territories
and in several theatres across North America, garnering acclaim
for its honest portrayal of two struggling societies. Avni grew
up in Montreal and currently lives in New York. She is the founder
and director of Just Vision, an organization that "increases
awareness about Palestinian and Israeli nonviolent, civilian-led
efforts to build a base for peace in the Middle East."
Jewish Independent: How has the audience reaction been so far
to the film? Are people open to discussion?
Ronit Avni: The best situation when screening Encounter
Point in terms of learning and growth is when people who feel
uncomfortable during moments of the film are in an audience with
others, often from different religious, ethnic or national backgrounds,
who are also uncomfortable in ways they don't think about. When
you're in this kind of mixed audience, you suddenly realize, you're
not the only one who is having a hard time watching the film.
JI: What did you discover are the different challenges that
these people face when trying to convince their own community members
to renounce violence?
RA: If I were to generalize, for Israelis, it's often a matter
of cynicism. There tends to be more attention paid to what political
leaders are doing, to top-down processes. Civilians have to overcome
the idea that, as citizens, they don't have a role to play, or that
they can't impact the situation outside the realm of politics. Palestinians
often feel the situation is too great, too overwhelmingly difficult,
to be able to change without the involvement of external actors.
These concerns on both sides are valid, but they are incomplete.
There is much to be done by ordinary people. On both sides, I've
seen incredible strides, as well as incredible challenges.
JI: Did you anticipate that you would have problems following
the two groups around, such as when the members of Windows
try to meet in the West Bank?
RA: We didn't know what to expect. We knew there would be
elements of the conflict coming to light in the process of them
[members of Windows] getting together because it was a board
meeting of Israeli and Palestinian members of this organization.
I don't think we anticipated it would take so many hours and so
many checkpoints for the Israelis to get through, because they had
a permit. We didn't anticipate the breakdown of communication that
happened.
JI: For the families in the film, was this as much a healing
process, meeting with other people who have suffered grief, as it
was a means to peace?
RA: We were deliberate in not only having bereaved families
in the film, because we didn't want the audience to get the impression
that you have to lose a child to get to this point where you decide
you want to get involved in this kind of an effort. At the same
time, there is definitely comfort to be in the company of other
bereaved families.... It's probably a combination of both [the work
and the community] for most of the [bereaved] people involved.
JI: Israeli institutions such as Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam
have been bringing Jews and Arabs together with a similar purpose
for more than 30 years, but you didn't include them in the film.
Why?
RA: We wanted a verité style, story-driven film that
takes you on a journey. We wanted to find stories that were unfolding
in the present.... The audience feels like they're going on a journey
with the people involved and I think you feel like change is possible
because you're seeing it unfold.
Encounter Point screens at the VIFF on Tuesday, Oct. 10,
12:30 p.m., at Granville Cinemas. For more information, visit www.viff.org.
Baila Lazarus is a freelance writer, photographer and
illustrator living in Vancouver. Her work can be seen at www.orchiddesigns.net.
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