GOD WENT SURFING WITH THE DEVIL

The origins of God Went Surfing with the Devil were scrappy at best. My film crew consisted of three of my best friends, all recent college graduates. Our camera was borrowed, our audio equipment unreliable and our editing suite doubled as my living room. Funding was exhausted from the start, as it took every penny I possessed to cover airfare and a two-month apartment rental in Tel Aviv. Yet what we did have was a youthful zeal to tell an important story -- the story of young men picking up surfboards instead of rifles and coming together to ride waves in the name of peace.

The story of God Went Surfing with the Devil isn't the kind that gets covered in the mainstream media. It lacks violence and corruption and bombastic vitriol. Instead it shares a beautiful narrative of young Israelis and Palestinians attempting to look beyond the strife and heal their fragmented relations through the simple act of surfing.

It was an enlivening and at times petrifying journey. For two months, we traversed Israel and Gaza, meeting the surfers and hearing their experience of the conflict. In a region marred by generational hatred, these surfers were beacons of light, eager to put politics and religion behind them and instead focus on the humanity of the situation.

Along the way, I discovered the maddening process of getting things done in a region afflicted by decades of violence and hatred. Even the simple act of giving was hampered by petty politics and bureaucratic disorganization. I also learned that all too often the media focuses on a conflict narrative-- the sensational acts of violence, the rants of the fanatics -- yet this is a tremendous distortion of the actual situation. The vast majority of those in the Middle East want to live peacefully among their neighbors and yet this stance is rarely reported. People often ask my opinion on the possibility of peace and I reply optimistically. With every generation we have a chance to hit the reset button and rebuild relations. It won't be easy-- and the rocket attacks and retaliatory strikes do little to help -- but it is possible, and it's programs like Surfing 4 Peace that will plant the seeds for this healing.

If people see the film and are inspired to action, that's wonderful. But my even more basic hope is that this film inspires viewers to once again believe in peace, just to get in the mindset that it's possible. Cynicism is a destructive and self-fulfilling state of mind, but as the young surfers of God Went Surfing with the Devil show, a little love and optimism can create huge waves of change for the future.