On the Edge of Peace

On The Edge of Peace
Directed by	Ilan Ziv
Release date(s)	1994
Running time	101 min.
Country	Israel
Language	Hebrew, Arabic, English

On the Edge of Peace is the first joint Israeli-Palestinian co-production. The documentary film captures a tumultuous year from the perspective of both sides. From the signing of the Oslo Accords to Yasser Arafat’s return to Gaza in 1994, three Palestinians and three Israelis are sent out with camcorders to document their own lives in intimate video diaries.

Summary

Juxtaposing media coverage of watershed events with the localized views of the diarists, the film shows the varied effects of politics on individuals’ lives. In refugee camps, kibbutz settlements and cities, we hear a variety of personal and emotional takes on life under the often-violent shadow of the peace process.

The emotional resonance of this combined personal-political style is never more effective than in the depiction of February 25, 1994 — the day of the Baruch Goldstein massacre. At 3:30 a.m., we see a lone man walking the darkened streets of Gaza’s Rafah refugee camp reminding people of the daily Ramadan fast. At 5:00 a.m., we are in pre-dawn Hebron, listening to the call to prayer. At 6:30 we are surrounded by the eerie morning mist which shrouds Kibbutz Ein Dor. Then we see the morning news and witness the initial reports of Goldstein’s killing of Arab worshippers in a Hebron cave mosque.

References

• "On the Edge of Peace". Icarus Films. http://icarusfilms.com/new98/onedgepc.html. Retrieved 2008-10-28. 

See also

Other Similar Israeli films:

• The Land of the Settlers
• My Dearest Enemy
• All Hell Broke Loose
• The Temple Mount is Mine
• The Skies are Closer in Homesh

External links

• The Jewish Channel's review
• The film's official website