One Day After Peace

“When you see the humanity in the other, it’s the end of conflict. ” – Robi Damelin, the main character.
The Film’s Website
Miri Laufer & Eriz Laufer, 2012, Israel and South Africa, 86 min.

My review:
It is only after the guns have stopped firing that the hard work starts. “Picking up the pieces” entails both a societal and a personal dimension, both covered by this outstanding film.
An Israeli mother, a sniper’s bullet kills her son…
Can parents survive the killing of their children? Is it possible to learn from others who have gone through similar experiences? Is South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the TRC, a successful model of healing for both the victims and the killers? Can its lessons be exported to other traumatized countries like Israel and Palestine?
More poignantly in this film, we are in the eye of the storm, where survivors have to walk, alone… into that unknown, and rarely discussed place – where the decision to survive entails a daily struggle.
What does it mean to honor the memory of those who have been killed?
Courage takes much trembling; some of this film’s unforgettable scenes are bound to remain etched in our memory.
[more complete description below]

Letlapa Mphahlele, director of military operations Azanian People’s Liberation Army APLA & Robi Damelin.

The Trailer:

Awards
The George and Leah Wilson Jury Award for Feature Film, Show me Justice film festival, USA
Grand Prix Jury Etudiant, The 11th Paris International Film Festival on Human Rights, France
Vara Audience Award, Movies that Matter Festival
Special mention Jury award, A Matter of Act competition award, The Netherlands
Winner, Best Research, Israeli Academy Award
Nominated, Best Documentary, Israeli Academy Award
From the program notes:
Can the means used to resolve the conflict in South Africa be applied to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict? As someone who experienced both conflicts firsthand, Robi Damelin wonders about this. Born in South Africa during the apartheid era, she later lost her son, who was serving with the Israeli Army reserve in the Occupied Territories. At first she attempted to initiate a dialogue with the Palestinian who killed her child. When her overtures were rejected, she embarked on a journey back to South Africa to learn more about the country’s Truth and Reconciliation Committee’s efforts in overcoming years of enmity. Robi’s thought-provoking journey leads from a place of deep personal pain to a belief that a better future is possible.  The film is in English and Hebrew with English subtitles.