PROMISES follows the journey of one of the filmmakers, Israeli-American B.Z. Goldberg. B.Z. travels to a Palestinian refugee camp and to an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, and to the more familiar neighborhoods of Jerusalem where he meets seven Palestinian and Israeli children.

Though the children live only 20 minutes apart, they exist in completely separate worlds; the physical, historical and emotional obstacles between them run deep.

PROMISES explores the nature of these boundaries and tells the story of a few children who dared to cross the lines to meet their neighbors. Rather than focusing on political events, the seven children featured in PROMISES offer a refreshing, human and sometimes humorous portrait of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

PROMISES, a film by Justine Shapiro, B.Z. Goldberg and co-director and editor Carlos Bolado, was shot between 1995-2000.

Running time, 106 minutes.
Arabic, Hebrew and English dialogue with English subtitles.

REVIEWS

PROMISES stops you in your tracks. It reminds you that children are very connected to God. It is deeply touching and disturbing to see how alike all children are and how religion turns them into each others enemies. It is a movie that changes you.
—Mike Nichols, Film Director

Extraordinary! Intensely personal and insightful —a humanist’s dream.
 —Julie Salamon, The New York Times (read entire review)

Stunning and powerful! Should not be missed. Their acts of camaraderie transcend politics and ethnicity.
—Howard Rosenberg, Los Angeles TImes

What an extraordinary film, in which the filmmakers visit young people both Palestinian and Israeli and find that in many cases they share the things that all young people share even though they are divided by this great gulf in the MIddle East. "
—Roger Ebert (Master of Ceremonies at the Hamptons Film Festival)

A project of love and devotion... This small film is a large masterpiece.   —The Jerusalem Post. (Israel)

Impressive, moving and deeply authentic. One of the best films about the Middle East I have ever seen. The rhythm of the editing leaves you at the edge of your chair. If I had my way, the next Middle East peace summit would start with a screening of PROMISES.
—David Grossman, Israeli author: The Yellow Wind; See Under: Love