Promises

Seven Israeli and Palestinian children living in and around Jerusalem provide deeply humane insight into the complexities of the conflict in the Middle East. Shot during the period between the Oslo peace accords and the current turmoil, these highly articulate and endearingly honest children tell of their efforts to come to grips with the religious and national conflicts that have shaped their daily lives. The children, aged between 11 and 13 during the initial interview, live within a 20-minute radius of one another but have little direct knowledge of the other's lives. Filmmaker Goldberg, who speaks Hebrew and Arabic, serves as an onscreen intermediary between them. The children tell stories of growing up amid the conflict with matter-of-factness and show frequent glimpses of a more hardened, adult nature than we might imagine given their tender years. The story veers in a surprising direction when several Jewish and Arab children come together; it is in this poignant segment that the film truly lives up to its title. 2001 Rotterdam Film Festival, Audience Award; 2001 San Francisco International Film Festival Golden Gate Award, Best Bay Area Documentary and Audience Award Best Documentary

Carlos Bolado was born in Veracruz, Mexico. His 1999 directorial feature debut, BAJO CALIFORNIA, EL LIMITE DE TIEMPO (Under California _ The Limit of Time) was selected at film festivals worldwide. Carlos received international recognition for editing the film LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE (1991) and LIKE A BRIDE (1993). He is a recipient of an artists fellowship from the Rockefeller Foundation., B.Z. Goldberg grew up in Israel outside Jerusalem. As a young peace activist he was involved with one of the first attempts to bring Arab and Jewish children together through the use of theater. These efforts spawned a number of global projects, most notably were initial meetings bewteen black and white South African educators and business leaders. As a theater director, his work includes "Charlotte: Life or Theater" (Israel Festival; American Repertory Theater) and "The Courtship" (Edinburgh Festival). After attending New York University Film School, B.Z. returned to Israel to produce network television news for Reuters TV, the BBC, NBC, CNN, NHK (Japan), and RAI (Italy). His television work during the Intafada inspired B.Z. to study conflict theory and alternative approaches to conflict resolution. Today he is recognized as an authority in the field of conflict studies. His clients include AT&T, Pacific Bell, Levi Strauss, Solidarity Social Foundation in Poland, the Toyota Group in Japan, the Israeli Army, and the Interfaith Center for Peace in Jerusalem. B.Z. is fluent in Hebrew and conversant in Arabic., Justine Shapiro hosts the award-winning documentary television series "Lonely Planet". Programs in the series, such as "Israel", "Egypt", "Vietnam", "Ecuador", "China", "India", "West Africa", are broadcast in the US, Canada, Europe, the UK, and Australia and are distributed on video. Her film credits include "I'll Do Anything" by James L. Brooks (Columbia Pictures) and "Storyville" (20th Century Fox). Television credits include Steven Speilberg's "SeaQuest DSV", and "Floodtide" (Granada Television). During her four years in Los Angeles, Justine also helped to coordinate Common Ground and LA Works - two volunteer programs targeting inner-city youth. Since she left Hollywood in 1993, Justine has been working as a documentary filmmaker and was involved in the production of the BBC's "History of Food" series, "Voices From the Storm" (a film about Gulf War veterans) and IDG Film's "Nagasaki Journey". Justine was the associate producer and co-writer for "B.C. El Limite Del Tiempo", a feature film produced by the Mexican Film Board.