30/08/2024 - VENICE 2024: Göran Hugo Olsson’s doc is essentially a 200-minute showreel digging into the causes and effects of the political, military and societal crises involving the two countries

After helming The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and Concerning Violence [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Swedish filmmaker Göran Hugo Olsson decides to zoom in on more than 30 years of tragic history in his latest outing, Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989 [+see also:
interview: Göran Hugo Olsson
film profile]. The documentary, playing out of competition at this year’s Venice Film Festival, boasts 200 minutes of archive footage documenting the rise of the Israeli state, interwoven with the Palestinian struggle for independence. All of the main political, military and societal crises involving the two countries are covered through the extensive footage shot by Swedish public broadcaster SVT’s reporters, who were constantly present in the war-torn region.

And, of course, there are plenty of familiar faces belonging to both sides of the decades-long conflict (and beyond) featured, including Yasser Arafat, Abba Eban, Golda Meir, Henry Kissinger, Olof Palme, David Ben-Gurion, Jimmy Carter, Anwar Sadat and Ariel Sharon, among others. In particular, some segments see these prominent figures taking part in historic events. For example, we witness Golda Meir welcoming Anwar Sadat to Israel on 19 November 1977 (just a few years after the 1973 war) and talking to him about the difficult path to peace. Sadly, in 2024, such a moment of reconciliation almost looks like a piece of science-fiction.

In fairness, there’s little to say or to add when it comes to analysing this doc in purely cinematic terms. In sum, the whole picture is a long showreel split into different chapters, accompanied by some basic contextual information displayed on screen and briefly introduced by a rather impersonal voice-over courtesy of actress Pernilla August. Given that speaking about Israel and Palestine today is more divisive than ever, Olsson’s approach is probably the best – and the safest, too. The footage is shown with minimal editing touches, and each segment unpacks a specific topic – some of these include the Arab guerrillas, the Six-Day War, the Yom Kippur War and the Camp David agreements.

Notably, one of the most striking sequences involves Mayor of Gaza Rashad Shawa, and Gaza Deputy Mayor and Catholic priest Audeh Rantisi. Rantisi speaks about the Camp David accords as the “burial” of Palestine’s case, as “they deal with the Palestinian problem without dealing with the Palestinian people”. Shawa says that, despite the peace-treaty talks, Israelis keep on using bulldozers between Rafah and Khan Yunis, planning to put a new settlement in instead of removing another one in Sinai, which they are supposedly meant to be doing.

This part shows exactly why peace has never been achieved between the two parties, even when a global superpower serves as a mediator. People are left behind, in any case, and that’s what we keep on witnessing today, feeling powerless despite knowing full well what happened before and after 7 October 2023. It’s a banal yet uncomfortable truth that this doc reminds us of, while unheard voices are unable to change things and others remain silent.

Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989 was produced by Sweden’s Story AB, in co-production with Sweden’s Film i Väst, Finland’s Tekele Productions and Denmark’s Ström Pictures. Its international sales, excluding North American rights, are being handled by Paris-based outfit Reservoir Docs.