Promises is a
2001 documentary film that looks at the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict from the perspectives of seven children living in the Palestinian communities in the
West Bank and Israeli neighborhoods of
Jerusalem.
Promises follows the journey of Israeli-American filmmaker B.Z. Goldberg[?] as he meets with seven Palestinian and Israeli children between the ages of nine and thirteen, seeing the Middle East conflict through their eyes. Rather than focus on specific political events, the film gives voice to these children, who, although they live only 20 minutes apart, live in completely separate worlds.
Promises was shot between 1995 and 2000 and was produced in association with the Independent Television Service[?] with partial funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
The film has a running time of 106 minutes, and includes Arabic, Hebrew and English dialogue with English subtitles.
Promises has been shown at numerous film festivals and has received excellent reviews and numerous accolades including:
- Best Documentary, 74th Annual Academy Awards
- Best Documentary, IFP Spirit Awards
- Truer than Fiction Award, IFP Spirit Awards
- 2002 The NBR Freedom of Expression Citation National Board of Review
- 2002 The Michael Landon Award for Community Service to Youth Twenty-Third Annual Young Artist Awards
- 2001 Rotterdam International Film Festival]] Audience Award, Best Film
- 2001 Munich Film Festival Freedom of Expression Award
- 2001 Jerusalem Film Festival Special Festival Award
- 2001 Locarno International Film Festival Special Ecumenical Jury Prize
- 2001 San Francisco International Film Festival Audience Award, Best Documentary Grand Prize, Best Documentary Golden Gate Award, Documentary Film
- 2001 Vancouver International Film Festival Audience Award, Diversity in Spirit Award
- 2001 Hamptons International Film Festival Best Documentary
- 2001 Sao Paulo International Film Festival Best Documentary Audience Award
- 2001 Valladolid International Film Festival Best Documentary
- 2001 Paris International Film Festival (Rencontres) Audience Award-Best Film
The Promises Film Project (http://www.promisesproject.org/)