Plot

In July 2002, 22 Palestinian and Israeli teenage girls came to the U.S. to participate in a women's leadership program called Building Bridges for Peace. "My So Called Enemy" is a coming of age story about 6 of the program participants and how they reconcile their transformative experience in the program with the realities of life back home in the Middle East over the next 7 years. What unfolds is an emotionally-charged film about the human consequences of all conflicts--as seen through the eyes of 6 young women who are thoughtful, intelligent and articulate beyond their years.—Lisa Gossels

In the spirit of Michael Apteds 7 UP SERIES, the award-winning MY SO-CALLED ENEMY has been praised as moving, powerful, intelligent and brave (The Nation) and a mesmerizing, eye-opening film that shows the true power of friendship and empathy to conquer political boundaries. (Teen Voices)

Spanning seven years, MY SO-CALLED ENEMY follows six Palestinian and Israeli teenage girls committed to justice and mutual understanding after participating in a womens leadership program called Building Bridges for Peace. This heart and mind-opening film, from Emmy® Award-winning director Lisa Gossels (THE CHILDREN OF CHABANNES), documents how the young womens transformative experience of knowing their enemies as human beings in the United States meets with the realities of their lives back home in the Middle East. Through the coming-of-age narratives of Adi, Gal, Hanin, Inas, Rawan and Rezan, we see how creating relationships across personal, political and physical borders is a first step towards resolving conflict. MY SO-CALLED ENEMY presents the complexities of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict through a human lens and the possibility and hope that come from listening to each others stories.

A film about building bridges of understanding in our own communities, MY SO-CALLED ENEMY offers audiences profound messages about tolerance, inclusion and respect, conflict prevention and resolution and the vital role of women in peacemaking.