In the Land of Pomegranates is a suspenseful, multi-layered documentary about a group of young people who were born into a violent and insidious ongoing war. They are young Palestinians and Israelis invited to Germany to join a retreat called ‘Vacation From War’ where they live under the same roof and face each other every day.
In these highly charged encounters they confront the entrenched myths and grievances that each side has for the other. As they try to gain insight into the seemingly irreconcilable narratives, the paradoxes and contradictions born of legend and history along with passionately held ideals and the daily fight for survival surface.
Interwoven into this intense footage, adding context, the film also follows other embattled lives in the Occupied Territories and Israel: a mother and her four children living in the shadow of the wall abutting Gaza; an imprisoned Palestinian and the subsequent path he’s taken; an Israeli survivor of a suicide bombing; and a daring Palestinian mother whose son’s life is saved by an Israeli doctor.
They are all caught in the duality of the pomegranate: will they embrace rebirth and each other’s humanity, or will they pull the pin on the grenade?
“In The Land of Pomegranates dramatically and evenhandedly portrays the seemingly intractable problems of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by casting its net wide but judiciously. This includes a soul searching and painfully honest discussion by members of the young generation on both side of the conflict. It is a must-see film for anyone looking for a sensitively nuanced yet highly informative examination of this heart breaking impasse between two peoples. In The Land of Pomegranates is not only a film, it is an experience.” -Arnold Steinhardt
“Sobering. A tough and clear-eyed look at how things are, rather than how we want them to be.”-Ken Jaworowski, The New York Times
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