Shadows: When the Past Rules the Present (2017)

We all know about the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, the settlements and the long occupation. But do we understand the obstacles to peace? The documentary film, "Shadows - When the Past Rules the Present" raises the controversial question: "Is the legacy of Holocaust the stumbling block of peace, and can the traumas of the past be broken?" For two years the director followed four leading members of the Israeli peace movement, while racism has grown, peace failed and the gap between us and them widened. The documentary offers unexpected insight: An influential rabbi builds bridges to Muslims and Jihadists. A former prominent politician who turned his back to power is now, as a debater, working for peace. A historian who calls the government's Holocaust teaching "pure pornography" and a psychiatry professor reveals the abuse of the hidden and inherited traumas in society. These positions, which we rarely hear about in the media, are gradually changed during the documentary, as peace again collapses. Shadows of the past and present are taking over, and step by step we see the four main characters facing a reality, they can't control. It is a close up view of people caught by fear and doubt. A controversial and universal story about the stumbling blocks of the past and its influence in the present and the future. The questions raised by the director are far from her Scandinavian background, in matters of conflicts, traumas and religion.