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"Friedensschlag - Das Jahr der Entscheidung" is a documentary about a handful of young men, ready to explode into violence at the slightest provocation, real or imagined, who learn to channel their destructive force into a creative energy. It is about how they turn from violence to non-violence, from self-hatred to self-awareness, and learn to take responsibility for their own lives. Following the lives and paths of several individuals, the film shows whether these damaged youths can reconcile themselves with their own individual histories. Because then, and only then, do they have any hope of a future.

Writer-director Gerardo Milsztein documents the work of the Work and Box-Company over the course of a year, an organization funded in 2002 that helps violent young men deal with their aggression via methods that might seem unorthodox – including boxing matches and self-imposed time outs in a broom cupboard – but work! The almost 80% who found a job or training place after completing the course is testimony enough.

“In a time when the old social security systems are in upheaval,” says Milsztein, “young people are increasingly losing orientation, and destructive thinking and behavior is on the increase. I want to take an active role in conveying a positive process of change, one that reflects a current development in Europe.”