THE NEGOTIATOR

Thirty years ago, Waterville-born Senator George J. Mitchell first arrived in Northern Ireland as President Clinton’s special economic envoy. In time his role grew: he chaired the peace negotiations that led to the historic Good Friday Agreement in 1998.

That political compromise changed the life of journalist and director Trevor Birney; more widely, it changed the lives of an entire generation on the island of Ireland.

In The Negotiator Birney profiles George Mitchell, weaving between Northern Ireland, Washington, D.C., and Maine to explore the art of negotiation, compromise, and lasting peace.

This timely, contemporary, and deeply personal film poses provocative questions about positive United States engagement with the wider world, and how Senator Mitchell–with his inexhaustible patience – turned the apparently impossible into the possible.

In a world rife with conflict, The Negotiator considers what is needed to turn war into peace, how to find enduring political settlements, and the role the United States can play in reaching agreements.