Imagine Peace

Director's statement

With the ruins of Mariupol and Gaza before my eyes and the global arms race in view, I wanted to show the world people who have always worked for peace, but who are missing from negotiations in times of escalation: the so-called "women of peace."

So I accompanied Edith Ballantyne, the 100-year-old icon of this movement, during the last years of her life. This woman, impressively clear-headed and compassionate until the very end, looked back on an eventful life: As a refugee and later as president of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, she witnessed a world falling apart, without ever losing patience or hope.

She was rightly called the "backbone of the peace movement" because she always put the movement, not herself, first. Her intuition for engaging in dialogue with those who held different views deeply impressed me. As a bridge-builder, she always sought diplomacy instead of armament and military confrontation to resolve conflicts.

She was frustrated by the common accusations that she was a naive utopian whenever war broke out. For her, peace work wasn't pacifism. It meant continuous work and investment in structures that prevent wars from arising in the first place: combating social injustice, education, diplomacy, and a strong UN.

When the situation in Ukraine escalated, Edith said to me: “I’m waiting for that harmless spark to come and flash.” For me, Edith herself is that spark — and as a filmmaker, I want to share it with the world. Because I am convinced that if people like Edith led this world, life would be better for everyone.

- Fabian Chiquet -

Synopsis

Hundred-year-old Edith Ballantyne fled from the Nazis in 1938 and found her purpose as president of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. As an ally of the United Nations, she influenced the international peace movement and brought millions of people onto the streets for disarmament. Horrified by the escalating conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, she now joins fellow activists in calling for dialogue.

A Milan Film Production

Duration 90 min.
Genre Documentary
Languages English
Producers Cyrill Gerber, Caroline Meier
Screenplay & Director Fabian Chiquet

Supported by
BAK (Success Cinema, FiSS) / Basler Filmförderung / SRF Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen / SRG Passage Antenne / Suissimage / SSA / Burgergemeinde Bern