Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989, a new documentary by Swedish director Göran Hugo Olsson (The Black Power Mixtape 1967–1975, Concerning Violence) will have its world premiere in the Venice Film Festival out-of-competition lineup later this week. Now, the first trailer for the three-hour archival footage doc has dropped.
It gives a first glimpse of stories and voices from both sides of the long-running conflict. “Hidden in the vaults of Swedish television for decades, hundreds of hours of unseen footage,” the trailer also highlights.
“During the years 1958 to 1989, the Swedish public broadcaster SVT’s reporting from Israel and Palestine was unique. Their reporters were constantly present in the war-affected region, documenting everything from everyday life to international crises,” according to a synopsis of the film. “This extensive treasure of footage makes up the material for Göran Hugo Olsson’s new film, where footage of the rise of the Israeli state is interwoven with the Palestinian struggle for independence. News coverage with Yasser Arafat and interviews with Israeli foreign minister Abba Eban during a visit to Sweden are parts of exclusive archive material that has not been shown since first broadcast. Combined, they tell the story of a changed media landscape and offer a tool to understand a conflict that has affected our time like few others.”
Olsson said that work on the doc was difficult. “This is by far the most painful film that I – we – have ever done, and five years in the making, it has unfortunately become heartbreakingly timely,” he said. “While the material has been an absolute delight to work with, beautiful images with incredibly interesting characters mixed with human testimonies and geopolitical events – the course of history becomes increasingly agonizing. We have really tried to show respect to both the originators of the footage and the participants, with the perhaps outmoded intent to promote notions, such as peace and understanding.”
The film was produced by Story AB, with Sweden’s Film i Väst, Finland’s Tekele Productions, and Denmark’s Ström Pictures functioning as co-producers. International sales, excluding North America, are being handled by Paris-based Reservoir Docs.
Producer Tobias Janson of Story AB highlighted that Sweden’s position between the two blocs of the Cold War helped Swedish TV get a “wealth of footage from this period, along with images of places and people rarely seen elsewhere.” He concluded: “When we began working on this film five years ago, it was difficult to generate interest; not many people were discussing the topic. Today, its relevance is undeniable.”
The world premiere of Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989 is set for Venice this Friday at 3 p.m. local time.
Watch the trailer below.
