The Olive Season

For us, Abderrahim, Adèle, Floraine and Vincent, the time of the olives took the form of a long journey to meet those who act every day, everywhere in the world, to create social links and promote living together. Our commitment is simple: to show that the current stormy climate, conducive to crises and conflicts, also allows the silent blossoming of thousands of peace projects, taking root on all continents. This documentary is the fruit of our harvest, an abundant harvest, sometimes laborious but always stimulating, inspiring and engaging. The time of the olives is the time of a generation that refuses to give in to pessimism, that wishes to act, to react, to be informed, to be indignant, to hope, to create. It is the time to harvest peace actions, concrete solutions to escape the dynamics of violence, to fight against hate speech, identity-based confrontations, and dangerous prejudices.

Our project has taken us to 18 countries, to meet activists, academics, politicians, militants, citizens, of all ages and all spiritual and religious convictions, united by the same ideal of a diverse, inclusive and sustainable society. It is that of Assaad Chaftari, who brings together Christian and Muslim former combatants who used to be enemies of war in Lebanon. It’s Rusudan’s, who is building a mosque and a synagogue on the grounds of his church in Georgia. Mereti, who encourages all religious leaders to condemn violence against women in Fiji. That of Marlon Sims, who creates contemporary ballets to enhance his heritage and to remind people of slavery in Jamaica. They are, along with many others, the reason for the existence of our film. Each in their own way, they make interfaith a powerful tool to advance peace in all its dimensions: feminism, memory work, education, sustainable development, post-conflict reconciliation, refugee reception, security or health. For us, these topics are inseparable, the faces of the same reality, the intertwined branches of the same olive tree, the call to awaken the conscience of citizens in the form of a challenge to act and to commit.

How can we become allies for one another? How can we put brotherhood and sisterhood back at the heart of our relationships? How do we value our diversity? These questions resonate in all the words we have gathered but also in our own journey of commitment. Our team was our first source of inspiration: four young people, a Muslim, a Jew, a Catholic and an agnostic, two women and two men, with different origins, social backgrounds and paths. It is through the prism of this diversity that we traveled, questioned, listened, doubted, struggled, experimented, sometimes failed and always learned. Each person we met, each olive we picked up on the road, contributed to write our story: we hope that they inspire today a new page of yours.