Disturbing the Peace(2016)

Plot Summary

• Disturbing the Peace is a journey of people triumphing over stories. Riding the front lines of national narratives, Israeli and Palestinian soldiers come face to face with the perceived opposition. Realities are shaken as they participate in the horrors of war only to discover that the true enemy is the collective inability to see past an old story in which victim and victimizer are stuck in a never-ending cycle of violence. This revelation allows for an opportunity to transcend right and wrong, question the creation of narrative and its acceptance as reality, and realize our shared humanity.The film follows a group of former Israeli soldiers and Palestinian fighters who have laid down their weapons and are working together through non-violence to end one of the oldest, seemingly intractable narratives of our time. In the fertile grounds of compassion, Disturbing the Peace sheds light on something the mainstream media refuses to cover - that at some level, even as conflict among nations persists, peace already exists in the Middle East.Combatants For Peace is an organization of former fighters on both sides of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. They are the only active bi-national group of soldiers in the world working through non-violence during an ongoing conflict. Having fought on battlefields and knew the horrors of war they now describe themselves as an organization of people taking responsibility for our own creation.From Israeli soldiers who grew up dreaming of heroism and served in the elite forces of the Israeli military to Palestinian fighters whose involvement in the armed uprising or Intifada led to serving years in prison - their only encounter with each other was in combat. Today they work not through weapons of war, but with weapons of peace, utilizing dialogue, theater and other cultural mediums in an effort to end the Occupation and to achieve a two state solution with respect for everyone. They face difficult challenges, from many in their own societies who call them traitors, to the outbreak of another round of war in Gaza, yet they know what is at stake.Disturbing the Peace follows these warriors in their quest for a peaceful end to the conflict and utilizes verite footage along with rich archival footage and other visuals The story unfolds in a way that enables the audience to examine their own narratives and imagine creative ways to end our own occupations and build the future that we want for all.While the film is set in Israel and Palestine, it is ultimately a universal story of personal and collective transformation. Disturbing the Peace is a film about seeing beyond the stories we accept as reality, the human longing to be free, to obtain recognition, to be loved. It is a film about long-lasting narratives that trap us in a circumscribed worldview of victim and victimizer. It is a film about possibility, persistence, and the beauty of the human spirit. By taking responsibility for our own creations we can begin to create a new vision for ourselves and society.

Storyline

• 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.