Promises

Filmed between 1995 and 2001, Promises is a portrait of seven Palestinian and Israeli children—living in close proximity in Jerusalem and the West Bank—and their perspectives on the conflict that divides them. Twenty-five years later, moments of hope, like a meeting between Israeli twins and a Palestinian runner, who connect through a love of sports, serve as a poignant reminder of political failure. As Julie Salamon noted in her New York Times review: “Wisdom does emerge from the mouths of these children, who are anything but innocent. ‘In war both sides suffer,’ one of the twins says. ‘Maybe there’s a winner, but what is a winner?’”