LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On May 5th, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad sat down for a short interview with Dan Setton, director of Participant Media’s documentary State 194, which opens in theaters today in New York and Los Angeles. Their conversation, which can be viewed on Participant’s YouTube channel, TakePart TV http://youtu.be/f8_TkG04bHU, is one of the few interviews Fayyad has granted since resigning from office April 13th.
Said Setton, “I have been making films about the Middle East for the past 20 years. State 194 is about hope. It brings to the screen an intriguing leader, Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, who believes in the immense power of nonviolence as a way to solve this conflict. I'm grateful for the access he gave us in making the film and for the opportunity to do this follow-up interview, which really gives a sense of closure to the filmmaking experience."
Among the things Fayyad told Setton was, “I resigned my job but I have no sense of resignation about the possibility for the future... I would say not only for us, the principals to this conflict, Palestinians and Israelis, but for the region as a whole and indeed for international peace, security and stability, this is hugely important. How can anyone have a sense of resignation about that? I think that the possibilities are there. I’m a firm believer in the capacity of people to keep the faith, and keep the hope, and it really is up to leadership to feed into that and continue to inspire against all odds."
State 194 chronicles Fayyad’s ambitious mission, which he launched in 2009, to demonstrate that his people were deserving of statehood, inspiring them to change their destiny and seek UN membership. Since then, they’ve made remarkable progress, but the political quagmire–and Fayyad’s recent resignation from office–may destroy the most promising opportunity for peace in years.
The film was produced by Elise Pearlstein (Food, Inc.), with Participant’s Jeff Skoll and Diane Weyermann serving as executive producers. For further information and to purchase tickets, visit takepart.com/state194.
Participant (participantmedia.com) is a global entertainment company founded in 2004 by Jeff Skoll to focus on feature films, television, publishing and digital content that inspire social change. Participant's more than 40 films include GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK, SYRIANA, AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, FOOD, INC., WAITING FOR 'SUPERMAN’, THE HELP, CONTAGION and LINCOLN. Participant’s social action campaigns and digital network TakePart.com continue the conversation and connect audiences to a wealth of content and actions. Its new millennial television network Pivot (pivot.tv), launching this summer in 40 million-plus homes, is TV for The New Greatest Generation.
