Banality in Conflict

Internet video has the power to entertain, but its most profound promise, I think, is to bring people closer.

In Palestine and Israel, a few miles between settlements on either side of the border can feel like the span of different worlds and, despite these profound differences — or the intense and relentless violence that divides these peoples — there’s a similarity about ordinary people living their simple lives…no matter how different their cultures.

That’s the point of Gaza Sderot – Life in spite of everything.

For those seeking to understand the nuances of the political dispute whose resolution seems completely out of sight, this piece probably won’t lend much to your understanding. But if you wish to feel a glimmer of hope that sensible people on either side of a heavily-armed border could find peace among them, this somber interactive piece helps by celebrating the banal with complex but heartening snippets of life.

The interactive timeline developed by Arte.tv shows life on either side of the border for 10 weeks from October 26th to December 23, 2008. Juxtapose the images and stories of twelve concurrent lives, each “working, loving and dreaming” despite the constant threat of air attacks and bombings.

The two-minute chronicles were shot by both Israeli and Palestinian teams, day after day for two months. It’s an original production of Arte.tv, the official site of ARTE, the French-German cultural television station, in coproduction with an Israeli team – Alma Films/Trabelsi Productions in cooperation with The Sapir College in Sderot, a Palestinian team – Ramattan Studios, a French documentary production company – Bo Travail ! and an interactive production company Upian.com.  Check out the credits here.

This is an interesting and moving application of interactive storytelling that will hopefully help break down the barrier separting peaceful, ordinary people