Promises (film)

Promises (film)

Promises is a 2001 documentary film that examines the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from the perspectives of seven children living in the Palestinian communities in the West Bank and Israeli neighborhoods of Jerusalem.

The film follows 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 focusing on specific political events, the film gives voice to these children, who, although living only 20 minutes apart, live in completely separate worlds. The most important aspect of the film is that it allows "ordinary" kids to develop natural bonds of affection by simply playing games with each other - bonds which go beyond the clutter of prejudices that they have heard from their parents and others around them.

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.

In 2004 the filmmakers' produced a follow-up program called Promises: Four Years On, which features interviews and updates on the children's current lives. It lasts 25 minutes and is included as a special feature on the film's DVD release.

Promises has been shown at many film festivals and received excellent reviews and many accolades.