A Slim Peace
2007, 70 minutes
Directed by Yael Luttwak
When fourteen women—Israelis, Palestinians, Bedouin Arabs, and American settlers in the West Bank—are brought together with the shared goal of losing weight, they find out they have far more in common than they ever would have imagined. A Slim Peace takes a revealing look at the universal struggle for acceptance, understanding, and personal transformation in a land of intractable conflict. This film had its world premiere at the sixth annual Tribeca Film Festival, April 25–May 6, 2007.
Director’s Statement
Making A Slim Peace has been a passion of mine for over half a decade. I lived and worked with Israelis and Palestinians in 1999 and, along with my Palestinian and Israeli counterparts, we produced an unprecedented teen television talk show filmed in Israel and in Palestine. With the collapse of the Camp David peace accords in 2000, many Israelis and Palestinians felt they had lost their chance for peace. Out of intense disappointment sprang my idea to use the universal obsession with losing weight as a way of showing the humanity and the humor in the Middle East. I combined my own experience of attending Weight Watchers in Tel Aviv with the conflict that raged almost daily. Despite the conflict, I was determined to make an Israeli/Palestinian documentary film that is insightful, entertaining, and fun.
Director’s Bio
Yael Luttwak graduated from the London Film School, specializing in directing, and recently assisted Oscar-nominated filmmaker Mike Leigh on his last project. Two of her short films have been awarded Best Films of the School, nominated for various film festivals, and are distributed worldwide by Brit Shorts. A Slim Peace is her first documentary.
