Minnesota film director documents stories of Palestinian, Israeli peace activists

INTERVIEWER: When hearing stories about the war in Gaza, it's often filled with conflict. But in a documentary by Minnesota native Joy Sela, she's telling the stories of Israelis and Palestinians who are working together toward peace.

The Other follows peace activists who despite personal loss, have chosen connection with the other side. The film is showing this Sunday as part of the Twin Cities Jewish Film Festival. Director Joy Sela joins me now. Thanks so much for your time this afternoon, Joy.

JOY SELA: Hi. Thank you so much. I'm so happy to be here.

INTERVIEWER: So happy to have you. I was able to watch an advance screening of the film last night. Such powerful work here. Such powerful stories. I wonder what led you to want to create this film, because it's such a big responsibility.

JOY SELA: Yes, it is a very large responsibility that I do not take lightly. And I hold with full respect and reverence to the Israelis and Palestinians featured in my film. Also, acknowledging that Palestinians may not have the access or the privilege to create a film like this due to issues with freedom of movement and just how difficult it is to film something in an occupied territory, as well as within Israel, as a country.

And navigating between those worlds and holding that unequal system, but with enough space to embrace everyone in their loss and their pain and suffering, no matter that it looks different for both sides. And just showing that in a really true and authentic way.

I grew up very pro-Israel, Jewish Israeli parent, Jewish American was my mother, and really understood that narrative and that side being that that's who I am and a part of me. And it wasn't until this project that I got to really understand the Palestinian plight, narrative, and perspective and what is going on for them in that land. And it was through my own genuine curiosity and deep yearning to deeply understand not only them, but myself, that this was created from that lens.

INTERVIEWER: And sometimes whenever someone shares a view really on anything, it seems these days, a lot of people react with anger. And I noticed the film started with text that says the views that Israelis and Palestinians express in this film are their own. They do not represent the popular opinion of their communities. Can you explain why you felt the need to open up that way?

JOY SELA: Absolutely. I feel that what we see in the West is all the examples of the harsh reality. We're being bombarded with those images of what's going on. And that is very important that we become aware and come into action.

At the same time, I wanted to highlight and platform another group that's choosing another way and doing very courageous and difficult work to come together and to fight against oppression and against occupation, as well as for peace, for both peoples on that shared homeland. I wanted to spotlight and platform them.

I also know that it's quite important to make sure that I'm not misrepresenting that as the norm. As we know, there's insurmountable surmountable loss and violence and devastation right now in Gaza, and the atrocities of October 7. And this has been going on for a very long time. And there is a lot of suffering.

And it's not the norm what these people are doing. They are choosing something that's very difficult. And it's a small group that I'm representing in the film. So I really wanted to make sure that we were reflecting that accurately.

INTERVIEWER: And what was the process of making it? I noticed the first half of the film is a lot of stories from Israelis and Palestinians who have lost family members in just horrible, unimaginable ways. So that's how it starts. Tell me why that was an important thing to establish.

JOY SELA: Right. People that watch it, it's a very harsh and heavy beginning. And you're hearing a lot of these personal stories of how they grew up and all of those things. And what I chose to do is actually to establish the true and very heavy reality, and also how these people grow up so we can see what they overcome later in the film.

I think to just show something in light and positivity, and just touch on what hope there is left, you have to establish the truth of the reality of what's happening first. And I think the power of their stories is what they came from.

So the two groups, for example, you mentioned a lot of people that lost children, or there's another group I follow that chose to go from violence to nonviolence. And I think that those are just such extreme examples of transformation. And I think if we don't do the honor of showing the full depth and complexity of what that is and what they came from, it really wouldn't land to show where they are now.

INTERVIEWER: And I understand you were already working on this before the events of October 7 of 2023 and the subsequent war in Gaza, and then you felt you had more work to do on it. Tell me about that process.

JOY SELA: Absolutely. So I've actually been filming since 2017. So this has been-- we're one of the only films at this time that is showing-- exploring the activist and peace communities from a pre and post October 7 context.

And the film was fully completed after seven years of filming. And we were set to premiere right before-- right after October 7. And so of course, everything was canceled. We premiered in April 2024. We went on to win two best documentaries, including at our premiere. And I was back in the land that summer.

And I had a very wonderful film mentor in Hollywood that told me you need to go and revisit all these subjects, because if you don't, we don't want people to discount these incredible stories because of what a monumental shift October 7 and everything that's happened after is.

So we wanted to ensure that people would still hear and listen, and not basically discredit and say, well, what about now? So we wanted to really ground the film out and revisit everyone. And for example, some of the most profound stories of part 2, Ahmed Hailu lost 60 family members in Gaza and is still committed to his activism.

And we have a new character, Maoz Inon, whose both parents were burned in their home on October 7, and he's doing very monumental, powerful work out in the world, advocating for peace and not to go towards revenge.

So we really wanted to ensure that we did right by everyone in the film and revisit everyone. And also, tell the truth that, of course, it's more of these organizations and people, it's more radicalized. It's much harder to do. And a lot of people have left the organizations.

Paradoxically, many of them have also grown because I think people are looking and yearning for something else. The suffering has gotten so bad. So there is kind of a both represented in part 2, where you see there are more deemed as traitors. It's more radical work. But then at the same time, these organizations are also growing.

INTERVIEWER: And the film also has a lot of history and a lot of behind the scenes or an idea of what life is like when people are living together but completely separated and don't really interact and don't learn about one another. What are you hoping that audiences take away from this film, both people who maybe know a lot about this conflict and people who maybe know less?

JOY SELA: Well, I think that we-- one of the themes that you see threaded throughout the film is separation and how much that plays into the system to keep this status quo of inequity and violence and trauma going, is that separation, whether that's within inside Israel or that's within Palestine, the West Bank.

What I hope people can take away is that no matter where they're coming from, I think people have-- what I've heard so far-- we've been out for a year and a half now. Part 2 has been out for nearly a year. Is that no matter if you're a beginner or you know a lot about this, or even people, Israeli Palestinian that are living in Israel and Palestine, it's layered so that if you're a beginner, you can get something out of it.

If you are totally versed in this, you might hear an opinion that surprises you. Or there's little inside jokes layered in. If you speak Arabic or Hebrew, or a lot of times people in these activist communities see friends and loved ones they know in the film. So I think there's a little bit for everyone to take from.

And powerfully for us to hear is that people that are not with a stake, or in the Western diaspora, they're getting a lot out of it. And it's just an entry point to begin to open up, to learn more and explore. There's no way we could cover all this. And I'm filming this and created this from my perspective. And there's so many other great films to see and to learn more about. And this is just an entry point.

INTERVIEWER: Many opportunities to learn, including this. Thank you so much, Joy, and congratulations.

JOY SELA: Thank you so much for having me.

INTERVIEWER: Joy Sela is the director of The Other, which is showing this Sunday as part of the Twin Cities Jewish Film Festival. We'll have ticket information on our website, mprnews.org.