Knowledge is the Beginning  
 

 
Co-sponsored by Jewish Voices for Peace, Sophie Pearlstein,
Temple Israel and Harriet Israel & Madeline Rosenfield

2006, 93 minutes, English, some Hebrew and Arabic with English subtitles, Color, Israel

“...an astonishing and revealing achievement of music and filmmaking...”

Commerce 5 p.m. Mon, May 5
Ann Arbor 2 p.m.

Mon, May 12
Flint 5 p.m. Wed, May 14

Filled with hope, good will and artists who overcome the politics of hate, this film is also filled with beautiful music. What a combination! This is the multiple award-winning movie about the Divan Orchestra, where young Arabs and Jews perform side-by-side to demonstrate how music helps us find common ground.

For founding conductor Daniel Barenboim and the late Edward Said, this orchestra is a symbol of what can be achieved in the Middle East.

Comprising 80 Arab and Israeli musicians, aged 13 to 26, and chronicling five summer workshops in Weimar and Seville, the film also takes us on Barenboim’s visit to Jerusalem in May and the sensational concert in Ramallah in August, 2005.

Ironically, there is a surprise at an awards ceremony that completes the metaphor. An amazing project and a dazzling evening.