Peace it Together, an internationally acclaimed peace building, non-profit organization based in Vancouver, will host its third collaborative summer filmmaking program from July 7th to August 4th, 2011. This year the project will bring together 30 college and university students from Israel, Palestine (the West Bank) and Canada to foster the vision of a peaceful future.
After building trust, mutual respect and understanding through dialogue, the participants will work together in small teams to make 10 short films about how the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and its inherent intolerance and violence impacts their lives, hopes and fears. When the filmmakers return home, they’ll have the opportunity to screen their films in their communities and beyond, and through this effort open a dialogue on how ordinary citizens can make a difference toward building peace. By this process, these future leaders and visionaries will bring a message of hope and inspiration to their region and the world.
For generations, Israeli and Palestinian youth have grown up without significant interaction. The narratives they are exposed to in school and via their local media are one-sided and almost exclusively perpetuate the conflict. Peace it Together believes that if youth have the opportunity to hear each other’s stories and work with their stated “enemies” to create a new paradigm, they’ll be less likely to continue in the cycle of violence. Instead, they will be empowered to work together towards peace and reconciliation.
Print and video updates of this year’s program will be posted regularly on the new Peace it Together web site scheduled to launch in July. For more information about Peace it Together and to watch student films from previous years’ filmmaking programs please visit the current website at peaceittogether.com.
The Premiere screening of the youth-made films will be held on August 2nd, 2011 at the Vogue Theatre at 7:30 PM and will include a question & answer session with the filmmakers.
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