Alia Rasheed
Oman
“Film can be used as a tangible tool of peace and unity.  But transformative films have to be nurtured.  Filmmakers have to be nurtured.”

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Paul Haggis, the Oscar-winning filmmaker of Million Dollar Baby (2004) and Crash (2004), was once asked in an interview how he felt about the disappointing performance his 2007 film criticizing the Iraq war, In the Valley of Elah, had at the box office.  He simply responded, “You don’t do pictures because the audience is ready for them.  You do them because there’s something gnawing at you, something inside.”
Haggis’s words …

Hello all!  I hope you enjoyed Mary’s great guest Peace Links last week. I know I did! This week we have a selection of articles and films that demonstrate how global machinations can affect the grassroots, and how the grassroots can influence global actors.  Enjoy!

If this doesn’t get you to read more from Search for Common Ground about Pakistani women, then I don’t know what will: “Pakistani women are fighting for more than just the empowerment of women. They are taking centre-stage in Pakistan’s fight against oppression, social tyranny and …

Audrey Scott and Daniel Noll
Below is an excerpt describing Uncornered Market authors Audrey Scott and Daniel Noll’s train journey from Iran to Turkey.  We here at Peace X Peace love it because it cuts through news stories painting Iran as a foreign and forbidding land and introduces us to ordinary Iranians.
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“Iran is again catching its share of headlines. So it seemed as good a time as any to share the story of our exit from the country at the end of last year — hopping a train en route from Tehran …