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Just wanted to draw your attention to this fine doco, War Tourist: Christmas in Bethlehem, screening at the aburdly late hour of 11.20pm. Its a shorter version of the feature-length doco that Radar is puting together of his xmas holiday in Bethlehem, where he searched for the Intifada but only found large scale outbreaks of peace. I've seen a few clips from this and it's hilarious.


War Tourist: Christmas in Bethlehem
Screens Wednesday 21 December at 11.20pm, TV2

War Tourist: Christmas in Bethlehem is the story of comedian and documentary maker Te Radar's desire to seek answers about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.

In late 2003 Te Radar, real name Andrew J Lumsden, managed to persuade his good friend Aaron Watson to accompany him to Israel and Palestine in order to shoot a film about the conflict. This was no junket - the only thing Te Radar was able to promise Watson was they'd eat a chicken on Christmas Day and that Watson had to pay his own way.

Normally a European tour guide, Watson agreed, despite the fact he was not a camera man and suffers from a degenerative eye disease. The two arrived in Tel Aviv at the beginning of December knowing nobody and with no plan bar eating the festive chicken on Christmas Day.

The result is War Tourist: Christmas in Bethlehem, a half-hour documentary for TV2. The programme is part travel show, part current affairs and part historical documentary.

Very quickly Watson discovered Te Radar was not ideally suited to being a journalist. His knowledge of the situation was limited and he was particularly inept at dealing with contacts, especially when it came to taking note of directions. Te Radar was eventually banned by
Watson from carrying money after being fleeced by trinket salesmen. Watson's frank updates on how he thought the film was progressing are conveyed in secretly recorded diary cam moments.

Nevertheless, beyond these trifles Te Radar and Watson embarked on a journey of discovery; they sought answers, but eventually left with more questions than they arrived with.

As Te Radar says; "While War Tourist: Christmas in Bethlehem contains moments of drama, of poignancy, of absurdity and of sheer unadulterated confusion, it is also the story of courage and
compassion in seemingly interminable conflict."

Catch the courage, the compassion and the chicken in War Tourist: Christmas in Bethlehem.

From TVNZs website