Two Documentaries on Palestine / Israel
Two incredible documentaries from Israeli and Palestinian directors to launch our Winter 2009 Programme.
Concordia University (Montreal)
Monday January 19, 2009
Screening begins 19h30
Venue: Room H-110, 1455 de maisonneuve
Tamar Yarom/Israel/2007/60min
This screening is co-sponsored by Tadamon! and Palestinian and Jewish Unity (PAJU) Montreal.
In solidarity with the 1.5 million people of Gaza who are currently under a brutal, asymmetrical violent siege, we bring you the first night of political cinema in Cinema Politica Concordia's Winter/Spring 2009 Programme.
It will be a night of powerful moving images that show the complexities of the conflict and occupation in the Middle East.
We ask you to join us on Monday, January 19th, at 7:30 PM in Room H-110 at Concordia University.
Admission is by-donation and we will be giving out our Winter/Spring 2009 Programme at this screening, so don't miss it - we've got another jam-packed year of powder keg film!!
THE FILMS:
TO SEE IF I'M SMILING (Lir’ot Im Ani Mehayechet)
Tamar Yarom/Israel/2007/60min
Israel is the only country in the world where 18-year-old girls are drafted for compulsory military service. In this award-winning documentary, the frank testimonials of six female Israeli soldiers stationed in Gaza and the West Bank pack a powerful emotional punch. The young women revisit their tours of duty in the occupied territories with surprising honesty and strip bare stereotypes of gender differences in the military. The former soldiers share shocking moments of negligence, flippancy, immaturity and power-tripping as they describe atrocities they witnessed and participated in.
The psychological transformation that these young women underwent as a result of military service is both upsetting and riveting. The culture of war transforms people: personalities change, moral codes are subverted, values are supplanted and masks are constructed to dull the pain of what they did and didn't do in uniform. At a time when women in the military are increasingly on the frontlines, and the actions of soldiers all over the world are being questioned, this powerful film explores the ways that gender, ethics and moral responsibility intersect during war. [Description taken from Women Make Movies]
SECOND FILM:
Our second film is a surprise feature doc that will be announced the evening of this screening. That's all we can say for now. Trust us, it will be good.
[First photo credit: New York Times, Second frame capture: To See if I'm Smiling]
TO SEE IF I'M SMILING CREDITS
Director: Tamar Yarom
Producer: Tamar Yarom
Editor: Eyal Or
Score: Jonathan Bar-Giora
TO SEE IF I'M SMILING FESTIVALS, AWARDS
Int’l Doc FF Amsterdam (IDFA), Silver Wolf Award
Int’l Doc FF, Amsterdam (IDFA), Audience Award
Hot Docs, Special Jury Price
WATCH DOCS: Human Rights Int'l Film Festival, Jacek Kuron Short Documentary Competition First Prize
Sarasota FF, Special Documentary Jury Prize
Haifa Int’l FF, Best Documentary
Dokufest, Best Feature Documentary
Israeli Documentary Competition, Best Documentary
Montpellier Festival, Documentary Prize
* New Orleans Middle East FF
* Boston Jewish FF
* Washington Jewish FF
* Palm Beach Jewish FF
* Hot Docs Canadian Int'l FF
* Sarasota FFl
* Calgary Jewish FF
* Visual Arts Center, Richmond
* Human Rights Watch Int'l Traveling FF
* Human Rights Watch Int'l FF, NY
* One World Int’l Human Rights Doc FF, Prague
* FICCO, Festival Int'l of Contemporary Cinema, Mexico City
* ZagrebDox - Int'l Doc FF, Croatia
* Full Frame Doc FF
* San Francisco Jewish FF
* Toronto Jewish FF
* DOXA Vancouver
