THE CHANGE THEY SEEK CHANGES THEM

 

In 2003 a diverse group of Quincy College students embarked on a project to unite Arabs and Jews on their campus. At the time, I was a student at the school, and the stories of both the Jewish and Palestinian students left a strong impression on me -- not to mention the gratifying experience of seeing the outcome of the efforts. As a budding filmmaker at the time, I saw urgency in the story, and felt a responsibility to cinematically recreate the events for the world beyond the walls of Quincy College.

 

Witnessing the generations-old gridlock in the Middle East, I realized that this geopolitical quagmire polarizes people into exclusive pro-Israel or pro-Palestine camps, with little exploration of nuances, walking of the middle ground, or acknowledgement of the existential situation of the other side. Indeed we see a short supply of people who are both pro-Israel and pro-Palestine at the same time, people who understand the historical and ideological complexity of the impasse and are able to support and make efforts for the well-being of both peoples in the region. This is the cause that I saw in the Quincy College event, and which I felt that a well-made film can represent and spotlight.

 

Writer/Director

Rahman Oladigbolu