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ALOEST Productions presents One Voice

Published on 2007-12-29 17:35:00

Israelis and Palestinians, Jews, Christians and Muslims: they are first and foremost musicians. Knowing that it was impossible for them to meet in Israel or Palestinian territory, long-time music vagabond Jean-Yves Labat de Rossi visited these musicians in their home towns on both sides of the wall. He invited them to join an extraordinary tour – one that would unite them in France for three weeks.  

 

It was an audacious gamble that soon became fraught with hazards. Right from the start of the tour, rivalries inevitably arose. On stage it was a total triumph, whereas tempers flared backstage. But this inescapable proximity forced them, in spite of everything, to communicate. The stresses arising from an exhausting tour and political rivalries slowly developed into close ties.

'One Voice' is a 85 mn documentary, written and directed by Xavier de Lauzanne and produced by Aloest productions.

The documentary received two international awards in the United States:

-  Best documentary at the International Film Festival of Palm Beach;

-  Best documentary at the International Film Festival of Houston.

The documentary will be also presented at the "Cinema-Truth" Festival in October in Geneva andin PAris.

SYNOPSIS

Music by itself cannot establish peace. But since it directly touches on everyone’s sensibilities, in a context of war it enables people to regain some dignity, to gather around the idea of peace and to be heard in a universal language. To create his France tour “ONE VOICE,” long-time musical vagabond Jean-Yves Labat de Rossi met musicians of all origins on both sides of the wall that separates Israel from the Palestinian territories. Haggy, Atef, Limor, Eti and Saz reveal to us the hopes they place on this project as they welcome us, often with great emotion, into their homes in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Gaza and the West Bank. Whether Israelis or Palestinians, Jews, Christians or Muslims, they tell us how much they’re counting on a foreign land to give them the opportunity to experience a musical encounter far from the conflicts that divide them. Today the lack of knowledge about “the other” is fixed in place. As a guarantor of the fundamental right to freedom of expression, France enabled their music to be heard as a real-world example of friendship that is still attainable -- through this project, beyond politics and mere words.

When the time came for the tour to begin and for them to live together for three weeks in France, the symbolism was faced with hard reality: 14 concerts in 17 days, 90 musicians (including 25 Gaza inhabitants who had never left the Gaza Strip before), 3000 kilometers to cover... and just as many individual worries to manage.

The tour started at full speed. Day-to-day stresses aggravated by complicated logistics created tension and missteps that were taken as insults. The atmosphere was fragile: the omnipresent political context in their lives was not easy to forget. Fatigue and stress rapidly stirred regrettable feelings towards “the other,” who was now just a step away. Jean-Yves insisted on the tour’s completely neutral character and tried to clean up the sensitivities...

Once the adjustment was made, everyone learned to talk to each other, to know each other. The problems the musicians experienced together helped to unite them. As well as on-stage success, they discovered affinities that they never imagined they would share one day. At the end of the tour, a real musical esteem was established before unanimous and profoundly moved audiences.

War between Israel and Lebanon broke out... Habib Awad, an Israeli Arab who sang with the Karawan group during the tour, was killed near his village in Galilee. So, whether Arab or Jew, the musicians came to his house to pay their final respects to the man who had become their friend.

Contact

www.aloest.com

Email address: prod@aloest.com

Phone number : +33.1.41.31.06.82

Fax number: +33. 1.41.31.12.25

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