Upcoming events: Kuwait City, screening and academic debate date to be confirmed****ERAP Festival, Lyon November 2020**** La Cimade- “Festival Migrant’scene”, 14 November-6 December***** AFPS Film Festival, Nantes January (20-27) 2021**** AFPS Film Festival, Angers dates to be confirmed****

If International Law was as strong as the Wall, there wouldn’t be one!

The Producer’s Statement

Watch the Full Version

“[…] a first-rate documentary that sheds a great deal of light on the intersection between law and politics in one of the world’s most persistent trouble spots.”

Avi Shlaim

Emeritus Professor of International Relations, University of Oxford

“Never have I heard judges speak so frankly about international law; this film will spark a cutting debate! It’s a must for any law library.”

Professor Jean Ziegler

OHCHR

The Genesis of BROKEN

Stefan Ziegler
Producer and Initiator
of the BROKEN Project

The story of Israel’s Wall in Palestine, of its daily impact on Palestinian lives, has been told from many different perspectives. The other story, the story of the Wall and the broken promise of international law, is yet to be told. “BROKEN” tells that story. In 2004, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared the Wall illegal, and called on States to support its Advisory Opinion. Although international representatives pledged their governments’ support at the UN General Assembly no tangible results have emerged to date, to the contrary, the Wall is nearing completion.

As a delegate of the International Committee of the Red Cross, and later as head of the UN’s Barrier Monitoring Unit, and now as a film producer, I have been working on documenting the Wall’s impacts since 2005. I put my life’s blood into a job which could only be done by an outsider. When my Unit was disbanded in May 2013 due to lack of funds and lack of will, my job came to a sudden end. I asked myself, could I blithely leave my work there and continue my career elsewhere. Could I morally live with myself if I simply dropped my work and moved on to another job? Could I ignore a subject which I knew in more depth than almost anyone else? Could I abandon all these countless people, and all the communities directly impacted by the Wall, without regret?

Read the entire Producer's Statement

Well, I could not! Because of my personal commitment and in all consciousness, I could not simply leave the Wall on the rubbish tip of history. So I decided to put all of my effort into a feature-length documentary film, capturing those questions I had previously put to diplomats, foreign ministers, army officers, and journalists, unrelentingly, in search of the answer of international law’s applicability. The Wall has contributed to worsening the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But the Wall also represents an opportunity. Palestine seems to be an insoluble problem, probably the most intricate in the world, with so many cultures and their religions colliding in one small stretch of land. How does it get solved? The Wall brings the problems of the occupation into a very clear focus. If the international community has the will to deliver on its own promises, the resolution of conflict, based on the norms of international law, might be much more straightforward than could be anticipated. This is where the Wall and the precedent of the ICJ’s opinion can serve as a mechanism for change. It could mark the beginning of a process, applying international law universally, finally bringing two peoples together, if not in harmony, at least in toleration. More generally however, the Wall and the ICJ opinion also throw up vital questions, not only about international law in the current world, questions of the universality of international law, its coherence, the promises it makes, and its limitations, but also questions about the phenomenon of increasing walling-in of nations everywhere. This film will help increase awareness of international law’s potential in resolving this and other international conflicts. I have set up AdvocacyProductions – Dare to Envision – to produce documentary films aspiring to high ethical standards and inherent educational value. Stefan Ziegler

Synopsis

We live in a world where international hard borders are built faster and in greater numbers than ever before in history, almost 70 since the fall of the Berlin Wall. The Great Wall in China was obsolete by the time it was finished. Northern Ireland’s Peace Walls have little reputation for that. An American President is intent on building a wall making those to be shut out pay for it.

The Israeli government, in 2002, began the construction of a 700 km-long wall in the West Bank on the Palestinian side of the “Green Line”. Two years later, in its 2004 Advisory Opinion, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague declared the construction of a wall within occupied Palestinian territory illegal. The Palestinians and many in the international community saw the Court’s opinion as a turning point in the protracted conflict. Today, over 14 years later, the result is sobering: Israel has neither desisted from the Wall, which is twice as high and four times as long as the Berlin Wall, nor made any reparations. On the contrary, the Wall is nearing completion and most States have made little effort to secure compliance, although under an obligation to do so.

BROKEN– A Palestinian Journey Through International Law is a compelling documentary about international law, its broken promises, the ICJ, Israel’s Wall in Palestine, and the international community’s duties and omissions; a tangled web of law, politics and power, and how history refuses to turn the page. Powerful scenes portray the consequences of the Wall on the people whose daily lives are affected. The film provides candid testimonies of internationally renowned law experts, ICJ judges, seasoned diplomats and the Israeli military
officer who built the Wall. Catch this important moment when the filmmaker travels across three continents to reach out to
the very people whose deliberations are those shaping the future of International Law, Human Rights and, ultimately, Peace.

The film has been inspired and produced by a former UN expert on monitoring the humanitarian impacts of
the Wall in the West Bank.

The Director

Mohammed Alatar

Currently one of the major documentary directors of Palestinian cinematography, Mohammed Alatar was trained as a filmmaker at the end of the 90’s in the USA.

His past working experiences include positions as Future Stories Director for CBS News, Media Advisor to UNDP and the Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs. In 2002, he founded and directed « Palestinian for Peace and Democracy».

With a profound commitment to human rights and his people’s struggle, Mohammed Alatar defines himself more as a human rights activist than as a filmmaker. He uses his work to promote his ideas and convictions around the world, giving scope to the causes and values that he defends. His mentors are Oliver Stone and the Egyptian director Yousef Chahin, who are « people who make movies with a message, not just entertainment ».

In 2006, Mohammed Alatar released « The Iron Wall », a film about the establishment of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which also covers the controversial construction of the Israeli Wall in the West Bank. The film argues that settlements are the visible aspect of a strategy for permanent occupation of the territory. «The Iron Wall» follows the timeline of the settlements and examines their effect on the peace process.

Referring to the Wall and the film, former US President Jimmy Carter said: “The best description of the barrier, it’s routing and impact is shown in the film The Iron Wall.”

In 2008, Mohammed Alatar released “Jerusalem the East Side”, one of the most- viewed political documentaries in Palestine. It presents the effects and injustices of the 42-year Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem”.

His current documentary project, « Broken » attempts to explain why nothing has been done to stop Israel from continuing to build the Wall, and why after the ICJ declared it illegal in 2004 it has not been dismantled.

Director’s Statement

From my house in the occupied Palestinian city of Ramallah I can see how the Wall encircles the city, blocking our horizon and imposing itself on the way we live, move and exist.

My first major film, “The Iron Wall”, was about this very subject. It was released a few months after the 2004 International Court of Justice’s Advisory Opinion. Then, I had hoped soon to see the end of the story of the Wall and its dismantlement. How naïve I was; the Wall is still there, titanic.

So when Stefan Ziegler, former head of the UN’s Barrier Monitoring Unit, suggested making a documentary about the ICJ opinion, my immediate answer was “yes”. The idea of “Broken” was born.

Our combined experience and the existence of enormous amounts of film archives from that time, allow us to reconstruct more than a decade of the Wall piece-by-piece, zooming in on the trail the Wall has left on the ground and in the International Community.

Many questions haunt me. What was the cause behind the international community’s failure to uphold the legal obligations, including “to respect and to ensure respect” of international humanitarian law? How can two UN resolutions and an ICJ Advisory Opinion be so easily disregarded, without action? Who is to be held responsible for such a failure? What does the failure to implement these high-level decisions mean for international (humanitarian) law and its relevance today? And where can the people whose lives were ruined by the Wall seek justice, and by which means? “Broken” is my attempt to address these questions.

“Broken” takes a direct and factual approach to the story, coming in from different angles and capturing the reality of the Wall. The story is supported by a very distinguished group of characters: judges, diplomats, experts, United Nations officials as well as Israeli and Palestinian voices. When the last image of “Broken” fades from the screen, some of these questions will be answered, others will be raised, and a whole tangled web of law, politics and power is exposed.

Interviewees

Colonel Danny Tirza, Israel Defense Forces Reserves (IDF), West Bank settler, former head of the military body charged with planning the route of the Wall (Rainbow Operation Administration) 1994-2007.

Professor John Dugard, Judge ad hoc on the International Court of Justice, former United Nations Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (2001-08), Professor of Law, Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria (South Africa)

Judge Theodor Meron, President of the UN Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (the Hague), former President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), former Professor of International Law at the Geneva Graduate Institute of International Studies, former legal counsel to the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

Ambassador Nasser Al-Kidwa, former Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations (1991-2005), until 2014 United Nations Deputy Mediator on Syria.

Shawqi Issa, human rights lawyer, former Palestinian Supreme Court Judge, former legal academic, former minister in the Palestinian Authority.

Judge Thomas Buergenthal, former Judge at the International Court of Justice (2000-10), Professor of Comparative Law and Jurisprudence, George Washington University Law School (United States),

Judge Bruno Simma, former Judge at the International Court of Justice (2003-12), affiliated member, University of Michigan Law School (United States), judge/arbitrator at the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal at the Hague, former dean of the University of Munich Faculty of Law.

Judge Awn Shawkat Al-Khasawneh, former Judge of the ICJ and former Prime Minister of Jordan.

Professor Pieter Bekker, former Senior Counsel to Palestine at the International Court of Justice hearings on the Wall (2004), Chair in International Law, University of Dundee (Scotland).

History & Facts

Palestine was among former Ottoman territories placed under UK administration by the League of Nations in 1922. From 1922 to 1947, there was large-scale Jewish immigration. Israel proclaimed its independence and in the 1948 war involving neighbouring Arab States expanded to 77 percent of the territory of mandate Palestine. Over half of the Palestinian Arab population fled or were expelled. In the 1967 war, Israel occupied the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, the remaining Arab-controlled territories. The war brought about a second exodus of Palestinians, estimated at half a million. The Security Council in resolution 242 formulated the principles of a just and lasting peace, including an Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied in the conflict, a just settlement of the refugee problem, and the termination of all claims or states of belligerency. Subsequent negotiations culminated in the signing in 1993 by Israel and the Palestinians of the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (“Oslo Accords”), which deferred certain issues.

Various further negotiations failed to yield a permanent status agreement. In 2000 began a second intifada (“uprising”) by the Palestinians, the first having been between 1987 and 1993. In 2002 Israel began the construction of a West Bank separation wall, located mostly within the Occupied Palestinian Territory, ruled illegal by the International Court of Justice. A new round of negotiations begun in 2013 was suspended by Israel in April 2014. Another round of fighting between Israel and Gaza took place in July-August 2014.

Excerpted from HISTORY OF THE QUESTION OF PALESTINE, The United Nations Information System on the Question of Palestine (UNISPAL) Click here

Interview with Christine Leuenbergerہ, Border Studies Expert.
Click here

Learning Tools & Opportunities

BROKEN is of educational value. Stefan Ziegler, producer and initiator of the film, has 20 years of humanitarian experience and a background in praxis-oriented training and lecturing internationally. Find his carefully crafted educational tools for a variety of audiences and events.

For more information, Click Here

Film Events & the Media

Events & Film Festivals

Film Reviews

Media

Achievements

Behind the Scenes

EU Parliament

To be confirmed

Derry Arts and Human Rights Festival

December 2020

If International Law was as strong as the Wall, there wouldn’t be one!

The Genesis of BROKEN

Read the entire Producer's Statement

Interviewees

History & Facts

Learning Tools & Opportunities

Film Events & the Media

Events & Film Festivals

Film Reviews

Media

Achievements

Behind the Scenes

EU Parliament

Derry Arts and Human Rights Festival

Northern Ireland Human Rights Festival

NIHRF

Società Italiana di Diritto Internazionale e Diritto dell’Unione Europea

SIDI

Dublin Arts and Human Rights Festival

DAHRF

Boston Palestine Film Festival

Ciné-Palestine Toulouse Occitanie

Festival de Cinema i Drets Humans de Barcelona XVIè features BROKEN on the first night of the film festival.

Screening and debate with the director at Institut für Entwicklung und Frieden (INEF) of Universität Duisburg-Essen, Centre & the EZEFParliament.

A l’occasion de la journée mondiale « Pour un monde sans mur »!

ICRC Alumni Chapter Geneva on the occasion of the 70th Anniversary of the Geneva Conventions presents screening of BROKEN with debate on IHL, Geneva

Austrian World Youth Symposium

Alpbach, Austria

BROKEN’s 1st Italian Tour was held on 09/07 in Rome; 11/07-Naples; 12/07-Modena; and 14/07-Turin; debating the subject: “If International Law was as strong as the Wall, there wouldn’t be one!”

AdvocacyProductions organized two concurrent events on the 9th of July commemorating the15th Anniversary of ICJ’s Wall Opinion in Geneva and Rome. BROKEN was followed by lively debates entitled: “15th Anniversary of ICJ’s Wall Opinion: What’s left?”

Grenoble, France

Al Ard [doc] Film Festival. Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy.

Visions du Reel, industry catalog.

Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva.

Human Rights Council 40th Session

PALESTINE FILMER C’EST EXISTER

PALESTINE CIMEMA DAYS by Filmlab Palestine

TORONTO PALESTINE

TRANSIT

“Sterk dokumentar om internasjonal rett og muren på Vestbredden”

Le Courrier

“Les promesses du droit ont été brises”

Achille Karangwa 20 Nov. 2018

MONDOWEISS

“The way forward may be buried in the wall Middle East”

Middle East Eye

International law gave a clear ruling against Israel’s wall. But nothing happened

Salon

Why does Israel’s illegal separation wall still stand?

UN Headquarter

POLITYKA

Palestinian TV

the UN sneak preview of BROKEN, 21 Nov. 2018

TRS

PRIZE FOR THE BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILM from Maracary International Festival in Venezuela,

June 2019