Six Israeli women give a personal account about their life in the Israeli Army, in the Occupied Territories. A female point of view on the drama of an unending war, on the moral challenges the soldiers faced at the encounter with the Palestinian population. The women look back critically at the way they handled the power that was placed in their hands at the young age of eighteen. Questions that were not dealt with during the service are raised today with great pain.
Awards
- Jacek Kuron Award for Best Short Documentary – Watch Docs Int'l Film Festival, Poland, 2008
- Best Documentary Award – Montpellier Mediterranean Film Festival, France, 2008
- The Silver Wolf Award – IDFA International Documentary Film Festival, The Netherlands, 2007
Festivals
- Zagreb Jewish Film Festival, Croatia, 2011
- Culturescapes Showcase, Switzerland, 2011
- Transylvania Int'l Film Festival, 2010
- Perspektive – Int'l Human Rights Film Festival, Neurnberg, Germany, 2009
Additional info
Gallery
"Like a short, sharp blow to the solar plexus, Tamar Yarom's hourlong docu stuns with raw, unfiltered emotion as six Israeli women recount the horrors they saw and perpetrated during their obligatory military service in the Occupied Territories. Behind its almost unbearable directness and unmistakable authenticity, the brilliantly edited docu is assembled with fugue-like precision, counterpointing trauma-laden memories with generic footage of an ongoing Palestinian surreality, the women's distinctive voices interweaving in complex harmonies."
For the entire review in Variety, check: http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117937724.html?categoryid=31&cs=1
From the Jury’s statements:
“The Special Jury Prize is given to a film that makes all of us face the question: could this be me? Would I behave this way? The director and protagonists share memories of a different and painful existence in a way that touches and challenges us and is relevant everywhere in the world.”
(Jury Statement, Hot Docs- Hot Docs, Toronto, Canada 2008).
“a brave and powerful testimony to the corrosive effect of power.”
(Jury Statement, IDFA –International DocumentaryFilm Festival, The Netherlands, 2007)
“….An unusual cinematic experience, courageous, piercing and sharp, the film raises complicated ethical questions…”
“…The women tell their stories openly, honestly, with sincerely and anguish that are painful to watch…”
“…Tamar Yarom created a precise, unique, sharp and insightful cinematic language that honors its protagonists and their story…”
(Jury Statement Haifa International Film Festival, Israel, 2007)