James Cameron Joins Palestinian-Israeli Doc ‘There Is Another Way’ as Exec Producer (EXCLUSIVE)
Oscar winner James Cameron has signed on to executive produce “There Is Another Way,” a 67-minute documentary about a grassroots group of Palestinians and Israelis working together through non-violent means to build a social infrastructure to end conflict and occupation.
The doc, which has screened at numerous film festivals worldwide, will open theatrically in San Francisco and San Rafael, Calif. on March 13.
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“There Is Another Way,” directed by Stephen Apkon, follows Combatants for Peace, a community of former enemy combatants based in Gaza and Israel who are working together during an ongoing armed conflict to promote peace through generous listening and empathy. The film explores the challenges that the group faced and continues to face following the devastation and escalating violence of Oct. 7, 2023 and the war in Gaza.
“There is Another Way” provokes a conversation that needs to be had and can only be had through an empathetic humanitarian lens, one that is willing to see the humanity in all people and to move forward pragmatically and compassionately — for the sake of peace, hope, human rights, human dignity and ultimately our own self-respect as supposedly civilized beings,” says Cameron. “Vengeance is always a downward spiral, never a solution, and the people in the film embody this. There is another way. The film moved me with its humanity, a ray of hope in a seemingly hopeless conflict. It reaffirmed my faith in the human species.’”
The doc is a follow-up to Apkon’s 2016 film “Disturbing the Peace,” which follows a group of former Israeli soldiers from the most elite units and Palestinian fighters, many of whom served years in prison—who join forces to challenge the status quo.
Set in both Israel and Gaza, “There Is Another Way” captures the chaos and brutality that both Palestinians and Israelis have endured for over 75 years.
“The “radical” idea of this “There Is Another Way” is that it holds the suffering, the capacity for violence, and for peace and compassion of both people – our shared humanity – in one place,” says Apkon. “It’s also not limited to Israel and Palestine but is something we are dealing with in so many places, and we need a space to hold complexity and have real conversations about what we are creating and why.”
As for President Trump’s suggested Gaza takeover, Apkon says, “The forced expulsion of two million people from their homes is by all definitions ethnic cleansing and against any standard of human rights, international law, or the interests of all people in the region and our shared humanity.”
Although the film is just over an hour, the director says that theaters are “embracing the film as feature length.” Theater operators will have the option to play a pre-recorded 15-minute conversation with the film’s participants post-screening. The doc opens in theaters in Los Angeles on March 20. That will be followed by a theatrical release in New York City at the end of March.
“We are planning a global screening tour, as well as on university campuses, and will have subjects of the film, Israelis and Palestinian members of Combatants for Peace, with us for post-screening conversations,” says Apkon.
In addition to Cameron, Maria Wilhelm, president and COO of Cameron’s Avatar Alliance, and Irish author Colum McCann have also signed on as executive producers of the doc.
“In “There is Another Way,” you see through the film the terror, pain, and confusion that draws you to pick a side,” says Wilhelm. “But what if there is no side, no one tribe? What if “my” people” are “all” people? How do we navigate conflict then, from a place of shared humanity? There is another way. We just need to choose it.”
McCann adds, “(The film) incredibly timely. It speaks to the idea of the “possible” that exists within the supposedly “impossible.” It is beautiful because it contains and maintains contradictions. It gives cause for optimism against all the evidence. It says that there are still good people out there in the world… It does what all good films should do — it disrupts us and makes us question what we think, or thought. And it shows human beings in the light we should be shown in — as complicated souls, searching for answers.”
Watch the trailer below:
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