The Peacemaker

In 2007,  arriving in Baghdad, Padraig O’Malley’s goal was to purchase airline tickets for key members of the political and religious factions in Iraq in the hope that they would fly to Helsinki, Finland to join in initial discussions to broker peace. With the support of Nobel Peace Prize winner Martti Ahtisaari, O’Malley succeeded in wooing the Iraqi leadership to Helsinki where what is now known as The Helsinki Agreement was signed. What made this accomplishment even more unique was that he recruited former enemies from Northern Ireland and from South Africa to participate in the talks.

..Contribute to This Film

The Peacemaker will take viewers into Padraig O’Malley’s world of negotiations and conferences with leaders from war-torn regions. Interviews with O’Malley and key figures in his life paint an intricate portrait of what motivates him to take on the seemingly impossible and show us how one man can truly make a difference.

The basic premise of O’Malley’s work is that cultures in conflict are in the best position to help other cultures in conflict. He had first applied this philosophy during “the troubles” in Northern Ireland bringing the Northern Irish to South Africa for a conference called the Great Indaba hosted by Nelson Mandela to restart a dialog and one year later the Good Friday agreement was signed.  The Northern Irish praised the South Africans as having made the difference. Now, in the face of seemingly intractable differences in Iraq, The Northern Irish and South Africans that participated in the Great Indaba, all once mortal enemies, have agreed to reconvene to help the Iraqis.

But, O’Malley’s efforts do not stop with Iraq. He has developed a program called The Forum for Cities in Transition, that will annually convene ten different cities in deep sectarian conflict from around the globe.  The first host city, Mitrovica Kosovo is a community split in two factions, Serb and Albanian, who currently do not dare to cross into each other’s neighborhoods, yet O’Malley has convinced them to be the first sponsors of this ambitious effort.  Attending will be opposed cultures from cities with equally contentious struggles: Jerusalem (Israel), Haifa (Israel), Beruit (Lebanon), Kaduna (Nigeria), Mostar (Bosnia), Belfast (Ireland), Derry (Ireland), Kirkuk (Iraq) and Nicosia (Cyprus).

The Peacemaker follows Padraig O’Malley as he continues his formidable work to help cultures steeped in sectarianism resolve conflict by applying his groundbreaking approach.

.

James Demo is an award winning independent filmmaker who writes, directs and produces. His most recent film First Time Long Time, a short comedy stars John Savage in the lead role and co-stars Emmy award-winning actress Amanda Plummer and Hollywood icon Karen Black.  In 2009, First Time Long Time premiered at Sedona Film Festival and also screened at prestigious festivals including the Nashville, Cleveland and Woodstock Film Festivals. In 2006, Demo founded Central Square Films in Cambridge, Massachusetts where he has produced several films and commercial work.

.