We set out to make a film that could reach across the divide, bridge echo chambers, and, we hoped, make a difference.
Here’s what Britain’s National Reviewers and columnists thought:
An intelligent even-handed documentary on the origins and course of the Israel-Palestine conflict – The Independent, Patrick Cockburn
Go see it and cry, for Palestinians and Israelis too, because they too can never sleep easy – The I-Paper, Yasmin Alibhai-Brown
Gillian Mosely’s thoughtful movie about Israel/Palestine raises important issues and (is) a valuable contribution to the debate – The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw
Thoroughly researched and scrupulously balanced, this documentary… is sober, thought-provoking stuff – The Observer, Wendy Ide
The Tinderbox, a generous, personal essay documentary about the region’s history and plenitude of perspectives – The FT, Leslie Felperin
(Gillian Mosely) is revealed to be an expert researcher and layers her film with fascinating archive material, which contextualises the conflict in the realpolitik of British political decision-making of the early 20th century – The Times, Kevin Maher
Film and Arts Desks said the following:
British-American documentary maker Gillian Mosely travels around Israel exploring via archival footage the deep-rooted causes of the Arab-Israeli conflict and how citizens’ lives have been shaped by historical enmities – Total Film, Tom Dawson
Mosely is to be congratulated on going all out to convey her deepest concerns by giving us a film that refuses to take sides and cries out in the cause of common humanity – Film Review Daily, Mansel Stimpson
History and truth matter – Service 95
Racism is racism – Close Up Culture, James Prestridge
Assembled for the benefit of “people who know nothing”, this on-screen archaeology of the conflict’s origins seeks to brush away the dust of bias and disinformation that has come to obstruct our efforts towards peace… The Tinderbox proceeds not through shock, or gore, but with a barrage of historical facts – The Arts Desk, Daniel Baksi
“Not through shock or gore, but with a barrage of historical facts,” is one of our favourite reviewing quotes to date. Alongside, the film has also appeared in a number of specialist papers:
Mosely delivers a very personal yet comprehensive and unbiased study of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict while she empowers the viewer to make up their own mind – Morning Star
A deep look into the Israel-Palestine conflict, where ‘everyone thinks they’re right’, was never going to make for comfortable movie viewing – Jewish News, Sarah Miller
Inevitably some people didn’t like it:
Although she says she set out to talk to all parties, Mosely has sadly failed to interview any members of her own family, something which I found rather intriguing and more than a little puzzling considering how personal her film purports to be – the Jewish Chronicle, Linda Marric
Linda Marric also called Gillian naive without explaining why. Criticism from others tended to mirror Linda’s complaint that members of Gillian’s family did not appear in the film. Her parents and grandparents were all dead by the time the film was made and we feel we should have told journalists up front. Another big debate was the music. Some loved it, some hated it, but that’s show biz…
Finally, Gillian has also penned several of her own pieces focussing on Britain’s ongoing colonial legacy from its Palestine Mandate:
All in all we are thrilled with the amount of engagement so far from all sides. Discussions at Q and A’s following screenings have been robust but respectful, fulfilling the goal of balance and bridging to a larger extent than we had dared to hope, and we look forward to continuing the conversation.
Full articles, radio and tv appearances, and press pack are all available upon request. Please email us at: the tinderboxfilm@gmail.com