During the summer of 2012 two teenagers from the Netherlands visited Israel and Palestine with the ambitions of understanding what it is like to live under such divided conditions. The two Dutch 17 year olds, Sebastiaan and Marianne, visited both sides of the green line and the result was the film The Growing Pains of Ahmed and Moshe.
The growing pains of Ahmed and Moshe from Sebastiaan van de Poll on Vimeo.
Among other destinations the two filmmakars visited the village of Ni'lin for the weekly friday protests against the annexation wall. In the documentary they witness the clashes that every such demonstration errupts into.
The fearful lives of young Israelis involuntarily recruited into the army and sleeping with their guns are told side by side with the stories of young Palestinians fearing nightly raids and arrests.
While many Israeli youths talk about the necessity of change coming for high up in the political hierarchy the grass roots movements are still flourishing among the young Palestinians.
The question raised by the documentary is how young Israelis and Palestinians are influenced by the conflict. How will their experiences influence the future of the Middle East? And how can young people find a way to start builing a better future?
Leave a Reply