THE WAR OF CHOICE
"1973" (1973), Vincent de Cointet
Documentary | 2013
On November 20th, 1977, millions of people around the world watched their television
screens in awe as the seemingly impossible became possible: Anwar Sadat, then President
of Egypt, stepped off his plane at Lod airport in Israel to an illustrious greeting by
the top military and political leaders of the state of Israel. He was the first Arab
leader to recognize the Jewish state and offer it a peace treaty.
If you remember only one image associated with the Middle East conflict, it must be this
one, if only because it startlingly contrasts the violent imagery of the Middle East which
fill our television screens today. The hopes of an entire generation were born on that day
as the historic event took place.
So what went wrong? Why almost 40 years later and despite Israel's peace treaty with Egypt
and Jordan, the dream of a peaceful resolution of the Middle East conflict looks like a distant
dream? To find the answers we have to journey back to the 1973 Arab - Israeli War ("The Ramadan
War", as the Egyptians call it or the "Yom Kippur War" as it is known in Israel) which led to
Sadat's momentous 1977 visit to Israel.
The 1973 War has been described in dozens of books and articles. The bare facts of the war are
well known: Syrian and Egyptian forces caught Israel completely by surprise and had her burning
at both ends. For the first time, leaders in Tel Aviv are rumored to have considered a nuclear
strike as a possible retaliation. The 19 day war determined the future of the Middle East and
in the process brought the US and the Soviet Union to the threshold of a nuclear war.
For the past 40 years the war has been perceived as an unavoidable conflict for the Israelis.
Israel was attacked on both fronts and defended itself. But after a closer look at the two years
that preceded the war, it was Sadat who pursued a diplomatic settlement and only turned to war
when he realized that diplomacy had failed. Seen 40 years later, the 1973 war suddenly becomes
a model for a war of choice; not a war intended to protect a home, as previously described by
Israel and many in the West.
1973- In First Person will for the first time tell the story of the conflict from the perspectives
of Israel, Egypt, and Syria as well as the superpowers,
America and the USSR, providing a critical opportunity to not only explain the events of
the past, but also to understand the future. The film will present the fault lines which
existed in both the Israeli and Arab societies and which
continue until today. These fault lines have intensified over the ensuing 40 years, radicalizing
these populations and deepening the conflict, pushing it further away from a resolution and closer
towards the brink of uncertainty. In light of the recent turmoil in Egypt and Syria, the evolution
of these countries' relationships with Israel becomes even more significant, as the fate of the
Israeli - Egyptian peace treaty hangs in the balance and the specter of a regional war becomes a
possibility again.Our unique view will transform our film from a documentary that describes the past,
to a film that will clarify to the viewer how the present in 2013 has been largely formed and shaped
by the October War.
http://www.alma-films.com/CatalogueFilms.asp?filmid=95&page=1&cat=1
PS Фильм в производстве. Режиссер-француз Винсен де Куантэ уже снял документальный фильм про
Дарфур (2007) и Сирию (2011).
В заявке намечен, в принцмпе, интересный подход к теме и несколько нестандартных ракурсов для
исследования Октябрьской войны. Однако, наметилась и "проблема", с которой авторы обязательно
столкнутся: их предстоящая попытка через историю Октябрьской войны выйти на решение - пусть
и в виде журналистско-кинематографического предположения-предложения - всего Ближневосточного
конфликта, может ни к чему не привести именно в смысле нахождения обоснований для такого
предложения. И причина тут будет простой: Октябрьская война и то, что за ней последовало в
смысле египетско-израильского мира, хотя и являлась четвертой войной в рамках Ближневосточного
конфликта формально, фактически была (стала через несколько дней ее фактического начала)
войной не за победу арабов в этом конфликте. Со стороны Садата она вообще была "не про
Ближневосточный конфликт" (хотя, в своих речах он иногда задачу восстановления прав палестинцев
и упоминал).
В любом случае вопросы авторами поставлены заслуживающие внимания. 40 лет будет в этом октябре,
а ответов на них все еще нет.
Documentary | 2013
On November 20th, 1977, millions of people around the world watched their television
screens in awe as the seemingly impossible became possible: Anwar Sadat, then President
of Egypt, stepped off his plane at Lod airport in Israel to an illustrious greeting by
the top military and political leaders of the state of Israel. He was the first Arab
leader to recognize the Jewish state and offer it a peace treaty.
If you remember only one image associated with the Middle East conflict, it must be this
one, if only because it startlingly contrasts the violent imagery of the Middle East which
fill our television screens today. The hopes of an entire generation were born on that day
as the historic event took place.
So what went wrong? Why almost 40 years later and despite Israel's peace treaty with Egypt
and Jordan, the dream of a peaceful resolution of the Middle East conflict looks like a distant
dream? To find the answers we have to journey back to the 1973 Arab - Israeli War ("The Ramadan
War", as the Egyptians call it or the "Yom Kippur War" as it is known in Israel) which led to
Sadat's momentous 1977 visit to Israel.
The 1973 War has been described in dozens of books and articles. The bare facts of the war are
well known: Syrian and Egyptian forces caught Israel completely by surprise and had her burning
at both ends. For the first time, leaders in Tel Aviv are rumored to have considered a nuclear
strike as a possible retaliation. The 19 day war determined the future of the Middle East and
in the process brought the US and the Soviet Union to the threshold of a nuclear war.
For the past 40 years the war has been perceived as an unavoidable conflict for the Israelis.
Israel was attacked on both fronts and defended itself. But after a closer look at the two years
that preceded the war, it was Sadat who pursued a diplomatic settlement and only turned to war
when he realized that diplomacy had failed. Seen 40 years later, the 1973 war suddenly becomes
a model for a war of choice; not a war intended to protect a home, as previously described by
Israel and many in the West.
1973- In First Person will for the first time tell the story of the conflict from the perspectives
of Israel, Egypt, and Syria as well as the superpowers,
America and the USSR, providing a critical opportunity to not only explain the events of
the past, but also to understand the future. The film will present the fault lines which
existed in both the Israeli and Arab societies and which
continue until today. These fault lines have intensified over the ensuing 40 years, radicalizing
these populations and deepening the conflict, pushing it further away from a resolution and closer
towards the brink of uncertainty. In light of the recent turmoil in Egypt and Syria, the evolution
of these countries' relationships with Israel becomes even more significant, as the fate of the
Israeli - Egyptian peace treaty hangs in the balance and the specter of a regional war becomes a
possibility again.Our unique view will transform our film from a documentary that describes the past,
to a film that will clarify to the viewer how the present in 2013 has been largely formed and shaped
by the October War.
http://www.alma-films.com/CatalogueFilms.asp?filmid=95&page=1&cat=1
PS Фильм в производстве. Режиссер-француз Винсен де Куантэ уже снял документальный фильм про
Дарфур (2007) и Сирию (2011).
В заявке намечен, в принцмпе, интересный подход к теме и несколько нестандартных ракурсов для
исследования Октябрьской войны. Однако, наметилась и "проблема", с которой авторы обязательно
столкнутся: их предстоящая попытка через историю Октябрьской войны выйти на решение - пусть
и в виде журналистско-кинематографического предположения-предложения - всего Ближневосточного
конфликта, может ни к чему не привести именно в смысле нахождения обоснований для такого
предложения. И причина тут будет простой: Октябрьская война и то, что за ней последовало в
смысле египетско-израильского мира, хотя и являлась четвертой войной в рамках Ближневосточного
конфликта формально, фактически была (стала через несколько дней ее фактического начала)
войной не за победу арабов в этом конфликте. Со стороны Садата она вообще была "не про
Ближневосточный конфликт" (хотя, в своих речах он иногда задачу восстановления прав палестинцев
и упоминал).
В любом случае вопросы авторами поставлены заслуживающие внимания. 40 лет будет в этом октябре,
а ответов на них все еще нет.