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Disturbing the Peace

New York Times Critic’s Pick • 1h 26m

Directed by Stephen Apkon, Andrew Young • Documentary • 2017 • 86 minutes

In a world torn by conflict — in a place where the idea of peace has been abandoned — an energy of determined optimism emerges. When someone is willing to disturb the status quo and stand for the dream of a free and secure world, who will stand with them?

DISTURBING THE PEACE is a story of the human potential unleashed when we stop participating in a story that no longer serves us and, with the power of our convictions, take action to create new possibilities. DISTURBING THE PEACE follows former enemy combatants — Israeli soldiers from elite units and Palestinian fighters, many of whom served years in prison — who have joined together to challenge the status quo and say 'enough.'

The film reveals their transformational journeys from soldiers committed to armed battle to nonviolent peace activists, leading to the creation of Combatants for Peace. While based in the Middle East, DISTURBING THE PEACE evokes universal themes relevant to us all and inspires us to become active participants in the creation of our world.

"Critic's Pick! Their stories are compelling — and persuasive...The transformations they describe are less like lightning bolts and more like dawning epiphanies." —Andy Webster, The New York Times

"Vital, absorbing...Inspiring." —Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times

"It sets a high precedent for the fest's new humanitarian award...Not only does it provide proof of previously thought unbelievable tales of peace, but it further humanizes everyone in the conflict." —Nick Allen, Ebertfest 2016, on Disturbing the Peace winning First Ebert Humanitarian Award

Best Documentary, Audience Award, Traverse City Film Festival

Tags
1948 al-qbeibah, abbas, active participants, al-aqsa martyrs' brigade, al-deisha refugee camp, anthropology and archaeology, arafat, area studies, beit jala, beit lahiya, bullfrog films, citizenship, combatants for peace, conflict resolution, creating new possibilities, critical thinking and ethics, cultural and ethnic studies, cultural anthropology, disturbing the peace, ethics, expository, gaza, golan heights, growing up in a kibbutz, history, international relations and geopolitics, islamic jihad, israel / palestine, israeli occupation, jewish studies, john kerry, kiriyat shmoneh, middle east, middle east and north africa, middle east studies, middle eastern history, netanyahu, nyt, occupied territories, operation cast lead, ovid, ovid_ca, palestinian refugee camps in lebanon, palestinians and israelis, people born into conflict, philosophy, politics and political science, psychology and mental health, s_0041, s_0065, s_0099, s_0158, s_0160, s_0197, s_0260, s_0263, s_0286, s_0353, s_0445, s_0668, sabra and shatila, saeb erekat, sayeret matkal, second intifada, separation wall, sharon, shin bet, silwan, social issues, social movements and activism, social psychology, sociology, soldiers to peace activists, suicide bomber, sworn enemies, the revolutionary university, theater of the oppressed, title_d, title_defgh, transformational journeys, tzipi livni, unleashing human potential, war and peace, world history, world regions, yitzak rabin, yom mippur war, zionism, zionists

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