It’s reasonable to ask why we need a documentary that chronicles a quarter-century-old peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians that has yet to achieve its aims. The answer is simple: In pretty much all realms, we need to relearn the kind of brave and fragile process that was at the heart of the 1993 Olso Peace Accords. “Part of what happens in negotiations,” says an American diplomat present for Oslo’s enemy-versus-enemy conversations, “is the humanization of the other side.” We are in an era in which new mediums, old demagogic tricks, and urgent problems have all conspired to produce a limitless supply of absolutist, non-negotiable answers from pretty much everyone to pretty much everything. Watch and learn how to compromise for the greater good, and how easy it is for nativists and nationalists to pounce on peaceful compromise at its most vulnerable moment.

The Oslo Diaries screens tonight at the 44th annual Seattle International Film Festival, which happens through June 10. More recommended SIFF films here; and all SIFF films here.