Twenty years after the peace agreement that ended hostilities in Northern Ireland, I traveled to Belfast to meet with leading activist creatives, to learn about the struggles of a society still grappling with its bloody history and the importance of art in fostering peace and social cohesion.
The film is available on YouTube - 19 minutes watch time.
The short documentary ARTOPIA #Belfast begins with my attempt to understand the Northern Ireland conflict, a.k.a. “The Troubles.” This inquiry takes us into the characters’ childhood stories from a city divided by peace walls and surrounded by military checkpoints.
As their personal stories unfold, the characters share their activist art initiatives, all driven by a commitment to Belfast's pluralistic and tolerant society. The creative initiatives include art and graffiti festivals (HIT THE NORTH BELFAST, CULTURE NIGHT BELFAST); carnivals in conflict neighborhoods (BEAT CARNIVAL); a contemporary dance piece that dramatizes post-conflict issues (HARD TO BE SOFT - A BELFAST PRAYER); feminist illustrations protesting the violation of women’s reproductive rights and LGBT struggles for equality; the BELFAST DESIGN WEEK initiative to create a thriving local design community with job opportunities; and a series of portraits of people who’ve suffered a loss on both sides of the conflict (SILENT TESTIMONY), meant to create a platform for reconciliation.
As we discover the characters’ passionate drive to help their fellow citizens, we come to see how genuinely transformative art can be in affording us opportunities to engage with critical issues through extraordinary experiences.
The film concludes with a look to Northern Ireland’s future, now clouded with the uncertainty of Brexit: the fear that closing the border between North and South might incite new violence, against the hope that people will abide by peace, however fragile.
* Official selection for DOCAVIV International Film Festival 2020 *
Participants:
ADAM TURKINGTON, COLIN DAVIDSON, DAVID BOYD, FIONA MCDONNELL, KARISHMA KUSURKAR, OONA DOHERTY
Credits:
Producer, director, cinematographer, and editor: Shachaf Dekel | Designer and animation: YARON SHIN | Music: HANA + HASIBA, MIKLATAKLITIM | Sound design: RONEN NAGEL | Grading edit Mistika: YOAV RAZ | Post-production: Edit Studios | Drone filming: CineCopters
More info: youtube.com
ARTOPIA #Belfast | A short documentary by Shachaf Dekel
ARTOPIA #Belfast | A short documentary by Shachaf Dekel
ARTOPIA #Belfast | A short documentary by Shachaf Dekel
