The Berlin Film Festival is underway! The 58th Berlinale commenced on February 7th and will run 10 days through the 17th. Folks are already starting to talk about the films playing at the fest and I’m going to do my best to tell you about some of the more interesting pieces they are talking about.

Over at GreenCineDaily (a great film blog) their review of a documentary by the name of Sharon caught my eye. Dror Moreh’s Sharon tells the story of former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Sharon was notoriously known for going from supporting the gruesome 1980 attacks on Lebanon to actually working for peace between Israel and Palestine towards the end of his career. The film looks at what influenced this change of heart, as

Sharon was seen by his reactionary constituency, who supported his murderous war in Lebanon in the early 1980s, to have betrayed his closest allies. Still, Moreh shows us, he stuck to his guns (a pun that undercuts its own imagery here) and made at least a step toward peace, which also involved recognizing that Palestinians could rule themselves. [GreenCineDaily]

What makes the film stand out beyond the subject, is the access that Moreh had. He was with the Prime Minister for the 6 years leading up to his 2006 stroke.

I can’t wait to see Sharon - it seems to prove that it’s never too late to change one’s ways and work towards a more positive tomorrow.

For more information on the film head over to the Berlinale website. to learn more about a group of educators that are working for Israeli and Palestinian peace today.