Innocence

by Guy Davidi

Product Availability

Home-Use, Community Screenings, Theatrical, Festivals

About the Film

Making a war is a storyteller’s job. A good story is crucial to legitimize the use of military force. That’s why militaries need strong promotion and Israel is a model country in promoting its military ventures. We’ve successfully colonized, occupied and overgrown, and only got stronger and more accepted amongst the nations. Our history as persecuted Jews, and our enlightened democracy are both in use in our solid PR kit. But before pitching our story to the world, we need to pitch it to our children. As moral corruption linked with apartheid thrives, avoiding military service becomes a threat. For some children we’ll offer benefits, for most we’ll sell fictitious promises. Every child is screened to serve with bearable pressure and an adjusted amount of exposure to violence. INNOCENCE tells the story of children who resisted to be enlisted but capitulated. Their stories were never told as they died during their service. Through a narration based on their haunting diaries, the film depicts their inner turmoil. It interweaves first-hand military images, key moments from childhood until enlistment and home videos of the deceased soldiers whose stories are silenced and seen as a national threat.

2022 · 1h40m · Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Israel

English, Hebrew

English, Hebrew subs

Festivals and Awards

2023

Hot Docs International Documentary Festival, Official Selection

2023

Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival, Official Selection

2023

CPH:DOX, Official Selection

2022

IDFA, Official Selection

2022

Chicago International Film Festival, Official Selection

2022

Best Mediterranean Film, Young Artists in Venice Award

2022

Venice International Film Festival, Official Selection, Horizon Section

Screenings

May 4, 2023

Hot Docs International Documentary Festival (Toronto, Canada)

April 30, 2023

Hot Docs International Documentary Festival (Toronto, Canada)

September 5, 2022

Venice International Film Festival (World Premiere) (Venice, Italy)

Credits

Director

Guy Davidi

Producers

Sigrid Dyekjær, Hilla Medalia

Production

Danish Documentary, Medalia Productions

Editor

Guy Davidi

Cinematography

Guy Davidi, Avner Shahaf

Composer

Snorri Hallgrímsson

Sound Design

Heikki Kossi M.P.S.E

"A thoughtful, wide-ranging focus results in an eye-opening documentary that grows into a moving lament for the dead."

“documentarian Guy Davidi’s Innocence only starts there, providing a harrowing multimedia case against his country’s conscription and the pressure squeezing the Israeli children staring down its barrel.”

“incredibly moving and tenderly assembled documentary…”

“a quietly powerful film with important questions that, one hopes, will contribute to a much-needed reevaluation of compulsory enrollment in the armed forces.”

“an impassioned, partisan film, Innocence […] serves as a yet another reminder that, at this point its history, the country faces greater threats from within than from outside its borders.”

About the Director

Guy Davidi

Born in Jaffa, acclaimed Israeli filmmaker Guy Davidi, has been making films since a young age. After evading the Israeli army Davidi started to make films focusing on highly charged political issues with a deeply emotional tone and an innovative approach. His most known film 5 Broken Cameras, co-directed with Palestinian Emad Burnat, was nominated to the Oscar in 2012 and won an Emmy for Best Documentary in 2013. The film has since been considered as an astounding achievement of the Palestinian-Israeli peace movement. His new film Innocence, based on 10 years of research, is an epic portrait of his own disturbed country.

Other films by Guy Davidi

Additional Material

Innocence

"A thoughtful, wide-ranging focus results in an eye-opening documentary that grows into a moving lament for the dead."

“documentarian Guy Davidi’s Innocence only starts there, providing a harrowing multimedia case against his country’s conscription and the pressure squeezing the Israeli children staring down its barrel.”

“incredibly moving and tenderly assembled documentary…”

“a quietly powerful film with important questions that, one hopes, will contribute to a much-needed reevaluation of compulsory enrollment in the armed forces.”

“an impassioned, partisan film, Innocence […] serves as a yet another reminder that, at this point its history, the country faces greater threats from within than from outside its borders.”

Guy Davidi

Guy Davidi - INNOCENCE - #VENEZIA79

BIFF2022 감독 인사말 | 이노센스 Innocence | 기 다비디 Guy DAVIDI

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