The People and the Olive
Director: Aaron Dennis | Run time: 70 min. | Palestinian Territories, USA
To raise awareness about the struggles of Palestinian fair trade olive farmers — and to replant uprooted olive trees — six Americans set out in February 2012 to run 129 miles in five days across the West Bank of Palestine. The Run was organized by the Traverse City, Michigan-based nonprofit On the Ground, which works to support sustainable community development in farming regions across the world. Joining them was a media team comprised of a filmmaker, two journalists and a musical ambassador. The runners faced many barriers in the endeavor - barriers that represented a microcosm of what their Palestinian friends face every day. Along the way, they forged deep bonds with their hosts while witnessing the harsh political reality and uplifting beauty of life in the West Bank. The run was supported by the Palestine Fair Trade Association, a collective of over 1700 small-scale farmers in the West Bank who have embraced fair trade practices to sustain their future and to sell their products worldwide.