Reviews: Flim - Budrus

Called "a timely testimony to the power of peaceful resistance" (Tom Dawson of Total Film) Budrus documents the strictly non-violent reaction of a West Bank townn to Israel’s construction of the ‘Separation Barrier’ in the early 2000’s.   Budrus, a town of 1,500 Palestinians stood to lose 300 acres of land and 3000 olive trees if the Israeli Government’s plans went ahead – trees and land critical to economic survival, as well as being a sacred part of an intergenerational history.

The film places you in the world of Ayed Morrar, a Palestinian whose previous work for the political group Fatah had led to five detentions in Israeli prisons – a man not predisposed to non-violent action.  His strategic decision that the ‘Wall’ would be best opposed by non-violent tactics makes the film an all the more interesting watch.

The successes that unfold as non-violent strategies are put in place and courageously   adhered to paint a colourful picture of what peaceful resistance can achieve: the unification of previously  feuding political groups; the involvement of women in the heart of a struggle; the coming together of civilians from warring countries as they come to separate the people from actions done in their name, but without their consent.

Combined with interviews with the Israeli Border Police captain and military police spokesperson, Budrus allows for a certain balance in views to be obtained.  A must-see film that shows a piece of history in the Occupied Palestinian Territories that many Palestinian and Israeli citizens still now little about.