Conflict is getting another look with a special film series. The Werner Institute for Negotiation and Dispute Resolution and Filmstreams paired up to produce a unique film series examining conflict and its resolution.

“The goals of the film series are to provide opportunities for participants to view quality movies that portray the dynamics of interpersonal and public conflicts and the limitations of the adversary legal or political systems to address certain conflicts,” Dr. Arthur Pearlstein, Director of the Werner Institute, said.

Conflict is an integral part of life, Pearlstein said, but sometimes the way to resolve issues is not apparent. The movies chosen are to show the audience different ways to handle conflict.

Bryan Hanson, Assistant Director of the Werner Institute, elaborated a little. “Conflict is an ever present entity in the lives of all people, including students. Working through the conflicts we encounter constructively can lead to innovation and growth. Being aware of the dynamics conflict creates can allow each student to make more appropriate decisions towards resolving the conflicts they encounter,” Hanson said.

All three films will have an open discussion afterwards so audience members can learn even more about what they saw in the movie.

Dr. Maorong Jiang will moderate the discussion after the first film, ‘The Story of Qiu Ju.’ He said the film tells the story of justice that was achieved through a very different way, not through the western logic concerning dispute resolution and definitely not through the court system.

“In the discussion following the screening, Professor Pearlstein and I will compare western and eastern processes of dispute resolution and explore some interesting cultural difference,” said Jiang. “We may touch up some political proposition on current US-China ‘going cold’ relations applying ‘stay-with’ conflict or ‘stay-away from’ conflict approaches. It should be fun and educational.”

Jiang also said that the film series and the discussions following each film screening will provide students with “learning and thinking opportunities in relation to the dynamics of conflict escalation, the limitations of the adversary legal and political systems in addressing conflicts, and effective methods for constructive conflict resolution.”

Both Hanson and Pearlstein said that they hope the attendees of the film series will have a great understanding of the importance of conflict resolution after watching and participating in the discussion

“This will obviously be a very short glimpse into the work and education we do at the Werner Institute for Negotiation and Dispute Resolution at Creighton Law School. We hope there will be students that would be interested in getting more involved in our events and possibly our graduate program,” Pearlstein said.

Pearlstein explains the three film choices below:

‘The story of Qiu Ju’, that will screen on February 11 at 7pm, is an internationally acclaimed film depicting a Chinese peasant woman’s quest for justice in a highly bureaucratic and turbulent society. The film beautifully portrays formal and informal conflict resolution processes Qiu Ju pursues after her husband is humiliated by the village head. In the post-movie discussion we will talk about various conflict resolution processes which exist in the U.S. as well as interesting cultural aspects of the film.

‘The Sweet Hereafter’, that will screen on February 18 at 7pm, portrays a small community coping with the loss of several of its children in a horrible school bus accident. Barely able to cope with their loss, the grieving parents are approached by a lawyer that encourages them to sue for damages. We chose this film because it portrays some of the limitations of the legal system and the problematic role that people sometimes assign to it. The discussion following the film will examine these topics and explore alternatives to formal legal remedies.

‘9500 Liberty’, screening on February 24 at 7pm, is a documentary that was released in the last fall which portrays the fascinating dynamics revolving around a Virginia-based community dealing with a divisive conflict about immigration. The issues raised in this movie are probably relevant to all of the communities in the U.S., including ours. Our goal in the post-movie discussion will be illuminate the value of dialogue and civic engagement in approaching difficult public issues such as immigration.