One Day After Peace

A mother confronts grief and reconciliation after political violence

One Day After Peace follows Robi Damelin, an Israeli mother whose younger son David was killed by a Palestinian sniper while serving at a military checkpoint in the West Bank. In the aftermath of his death, Robi attempts to contact her son’s killer, who is serving a sentence in an Israeli prison, hoping to open a dialogue with him and his family. The attempt is rejected, as the sniper explains that David represented an occupying army that denied Palestinians their sovereignty.

Refusing to abandon her search for understanding, Robi returns to South Africa, the country of her birth, to examine how a society emerging from decades of apartheid has confronted violence, guilt, and accountability. Through the legacy of the Truth and Reconciliation Committee, she meets perpetrators from all sides of the South African conflict and listens to their reflections on truth, remorse, and responsibility. The film observes former Minister of Law and Order Adriaan Vlok as he regularly meets families of victims, bringing food and confronting the consequences of his past actions, while mothers respond to his expressions of remorse in different ways.

Robi also encounters women who have chosen cooperation over resentment, including a mother who works alongside the person responsible for her daughter’s death to support former freedom fighters. These encounters prompt Robi to question whether dialogue and cooperation can lead to genuine forgiveness, even many years after the violence occurred. As political developments in Israel and Palestine reopen her own wounds, Robi reflects on the limits of reconciliation and her own motivations. Moving between South Africa, Israel, and Palestine, the film explores whether acceptance of responsibility and honest dialogue can offer a path toward healing in societies marked by long standing conflict.