"1913: Seeds of Conflict" film screening

Date: 

Tuesday, May 5, 2015, 4:00pm to 6:00pm

Location: 

CGIS South Bldg, Belfer Case Study Room (S020), 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, MA

1913: seeds of conflict poster

The Center for Middle Eastern Studies is pleased to present

1913: Seeds of Conflict

Breaking new ground and shattering old myths, this one-hour documentary, directed by award-winning filmmaker Ben Loeterman, explores the little-known history of Palestine during the latter part of the Ottoman Empire, a time of relative harmony between Arabs and Jews. Living side by side in the multi-lingual, cosmopolitan city of Jerusalem, Jews, Christians and Muslims intermingled with a cultural fluidity enjoyed by all. How did this land of milk and honey, so diverse and rich in culture, become the site of today’s bitter and seemingly intractable struggle? Was there a turning point, a moment in time when things could have been different? Weaving the raveled threads of Arab and Jewish narratives back together, 1913: Seeds of Conflict provides new and fascinating insights into the dramatic events that took place in Palestine which set the stage for the coming century of unrest.

The film examines the divergent social forces growing in Palestine before the outbreak of World War I that caused the simultaneous rise in Jewish and Arab nationalism. Combining the perspectives of a wide range of Arab, Israeli, and American scholars, the film includes information from documents previously unavailable from the Turkish Ottoman archives and largely untouched by historians. Shot on location in Beit Jamal, dramatized scenes bring many of the key figures of the era to life, with dialogue in five languages taken directly from the historical record — personal letters, government documents and newspaper accounts. 1913: Seeds of Conflict offers a fresh look at the complex circumstances that transformed this once relatively peaceful outpost of the Ottoman Empire into a land perpetually torn by violence.

For more about this film and to watch the trailer, click here: http://1913seedsofconflict.com/.

Directly following the film, there will be a Q&A discussion session with the director, Ben Loeterman.

ContactLiz Flanagan
SponsorsThe CMES Working Group on Film and Visual Arts in a Changing Middle East, Harvard Hillel