Spiral

Summary: Fundamental human emotions are the constant pulse within the rush of shocking events, headlines and politics that stream past us every day. In Director LAURA FAIRRIE’s documentary SPIRAL, it is human beings, not just events, that are under scrutiny. In portraying the resurgence of anti-Semitism in France and in the wider world, SPIRAL trains its gaze on individuals, witnesses on all sides of the conflicts that have fueled this escalation. By examining the lived realities of a suite of protagonists, SPIRAL reveals commonalities and quandaries that echo beyond tribal affiliations. Elders recall a more tolerant past. The younger generation lives with heightened dread, distrust, and despair. Fear is a shared toxin, from the suburbs of Paris to the windy slopes of the West Bank. SPIRAL seeks to prompt debate, not to elicit shock and anger. SPIRAL is not about the history of anti-Semitism. Neither does it seek to delineate every aspect of contemporary anti-Semitism. It takes us into uncomfortable territories and challenges us to see the human faces behind the controversies. It peels back the blur of conflict imagery to expose the questions at conflict’s heart: How are we to live together? How are we to avert the spiral of violence and hatred?