At a time when Israel’s legitimacy is questioned more than ever, this new film seeks to contextualize the triumphs and trials of the Jewish homeland. Award-winning documentarians Joseph Dorman and Oren Rudavsky take a multifaceted approach to a polarizing subject in this examination of the origins, meaning and future of the Jewish national movement, from its birth at a moment of crisis to the thriving democracy of today. Featuring candid commentary by Israeli and Palestinian politicians, academics, and activists of various generations, the film resists one-sided and simplistic historical interpretations.

A feature length documentary on one of today’s most explosive issues, the film is a searching and dramatic exploration of the dream of a Jewish state and its impact on both Jews and Arabs, unfolding across the broad canvas of one hundred fifty years of history from 19th century Europe to the modern Middle East. Told through the remarkable lives and voices of Jews and Palestinians living in the Middle East today, Colliding Dreams weaves together past and present, ideas and passions, wars and peace talks, brilliant minds with the voices of ordinary citizens to develop a film portrait of sensitivity and depth like none before of the story of Zionism and its controversies. Early reviews call it “Honest, searching, affectionate, respectful, critical” and “beautifully crafted; balanced, incredibly informative.”

“Illuminating, provocative, vital and engaging.  In this thought-provoking and ethically edifying documentary, there are interviews with 30 individuals including historian Benny Morris, novelist A. B. Yehoshua, PLO Executive Committee member Hanan Ashrawi, American-born writer Hillel Hankin, founding Peace Now member Yuli Tamir, Israeli army colonel Mordecai Bar-Or, and many more.” – NYC Movie Guru

“A coolheaded survey of a fraught topic. The highly intelligent commentators make for fascinating listening. COLLIDING DREAMS recounts the dramatic history of one of the most controversial, and urgently relevant political ideologies of the modern era. The century-old conflict in the Middle East continues to play a central role in world politics. And yet, amidst this fierce, often-lethal controversy, the Zionist idea of a homeland for Jews in the land of ancient Israel remains little understood and its meanings often distorted. COLLIDING DREAMS addresses that void with a gripping exploration of Zionism’s meaning, history.” – Newsday

 “This excellent, even-handed history of Zionism opens a much-needed space for moderate voices. Joseph Dorrman and Oren Rudavsky’s excellent history of the changing faces of the ideology that built the State of Israel offers a careful antidote to the shrill entrenchment that attends the very mention of Zionism. “Colliding Dreams” tracks the rise of the Zionist idea to the persecution of European Jewry, as well as to its less well-known roots in the Enlightenment and the rise of European nationalism in all its forms. Colliding Dreams opens a much-needed space for moderate, less inflamed voices. The result shows that it doesn’t necessarily take a lot of fancy graphics to make a great documentary. A host of smart academics, novelists, politicians and journalists, interspersed with sidewalk testimony from ordinary Israelis and Palestinians, are juxtaposed with telling footage which the filmmakers repurpose into an interrogative, though never strident revision of official stories.  – Variety

“It’s really, wonderfully refreshing to find a film that centers on storytelling like this. Co-directors Joseph Dorman and Oren Rudavsky present an impressive collection of interviews with Palestinians, Israelis, and those who fall somewhere in between: with PLO officials in Ramallah and secular Jewish novelists in Tel Aviv; with Palestinian scholars in East Jerusalem and Orthodox followers of Rabbi Kook in West Jerusalem; with ordinary people on the street and in cafés in the West Bank and Israel.” –  LA Times

To view the trailer CLICK HERE 

SPECIAL YOM HA’ATZMAUT SCREENING

Colliding Dreams: A History of Zionism and Its Impact on Jews, Arabs and the World

Tuesday, May 10, 7 pm at the Boedecker Theater

$12 in advance;15 at the door CLICK HERE