Al Tira: Diary from a Nation at War (2024)

Israel's Reel Extremism

An examination of Israel and its society after many months of war, seen initially through the prism of viral social media posts - and exclusive interviews with the soldiers behind them. These posts, some shared millions of times, show soldiers humiliating bound Palestinians, ransacking their homes, joking as they detonate schools and whole districts, and laughing as they launch high explosive ordnance into densely-packed areas. The award-winning team behind this Basement Films production traveled to Israel to interview some of these soldiers, who proudly defended themselves and their videos, some expressing callous disregard for Palestinians in Gaza. Through additional interviews with Israeli radical groups, politicians, and media figures, the film reveals Israeli Jewish society in the aftermath of October 7th, gripped by a vengeance and hate that puts into question any possibility for peace.

Netanyahu at War

The inside story of the bitter clash between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. Amid violence in the Middle East, the film traces Netanyahu's rise to power and his high-stakes fight with the president over Iran's nuclear program.

Waltz with Bashir

An Israeli film director interviews fellow veterans of the 1982 invasion of Lebanon to reconstruct his own memories of his term of service in that conflict.

Operation "Wedding"

Leningrad, 1970. A group of young Jewish dissidents plot to hijack an empty plane and escape the USSR. Caught by the KGB a few steps from boarding, they were sentenced to years in the gulag and two were sentenced to death; they never got on a plane. 45 years later, filmmaker Anat Zalmanson-Kuznetsov reveals the compelling story of her parents, leaders of the group, "heroes" in the West but "terrorists" in Russia, even today.

Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989

In the years 1958 – 1989, public service monopolies prevailed in Sweden and SVT's reporting from Israel and Palestine was unique. Their reporters were constantly on site in the war-torn area, documenting everything from everyday stories to major international crises. This extensive material is the basis for archivist Göran Hugo Olsson's (Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975, about violence/Concerning Violence) latest film in which images of the rise of the Israeli state are interspersed with Palestine's freedom struggle.

Occupation 101: Voices of the Silenced Majority

A thought-provoking documentary on the current and historical causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and U.S. political involvement.

Purple Bells

30 years after their emigration, Danni interviews his family and tries to learn their story to reconcile with the past.

Gaza Fights for Freedom

Gaza Fights for Freedom depicts the ongoing Great March of Return protests in the Gaza Strip, occupied Palestine, that began in 2018.

The Occupation of the American Mind

Over the past few years, Israel's ongoing military occupation of Palestinian territory and repeated invasions of the Gaza strip have triggered a fierce backlash against Israeli policies virtually everywhere in the world—except the United States. This documentary takes an eye-opening look at this critical exception, zeroing in on pro-Israel public relations efforts within the U.S.

Paper Dolls

Paper Dolls follows the lives of transgender migrant workers from the Philippines who work as health care providers for elderly Orthodox Jewish men and perform as drag queens during their spare time. It also delves into the lives of societal outcasts who search for freedom and acceptance.

Promises

Documentarians Justine Shapiro and B.Z. Goldberg traveled to Israel to interview Palestinian and Israeli kids ages 11 to 13, assembling their views on living in a society afflicted with violence, separatism and religious and political extremism. This 2002 Oscar nominee for Best Feature Documentary culminates in an astonishing day in which two Israeli children meet Palestinian youngsters at a refugee camp.

One Day in Gaza

How mass protests on the Israel-Gaza border led to one of the deadliest days in a generation. One year later, a moment-by-moment investigation, drawing on exclusive interviews in Gaza and Israel and videos of the protests and bloodshed.

Israel and Gaza: Into the Abyss

This deeply affecting documentary follows a small number of Israelis and Gazans through the most dramatic and tragic year of their lives. Using personal and previously unseen footage, it tells the story of the war in Gaza and the October 7 attacks through deeply emotional stories from both sides of the conflict. In Gaza, the film follows three individuals from reaction to the October 7th attacks to the start of the bombing by the Israeli military and to the loss of family members that all three suffer. In Israel, we witness footage of the Israeli characters, as they and their family members are attacked by Hamas on October 7th and then follow their stories through the year.

Gaza: Trapped in Hell

Since the start of Operation Iron Sword, provoked by Hamas’ attack on Israel, conditions in Gaza have become apocalyptic. After months of offensive, most of the territory is an uninhabitable field of ruins. 1.5 million people are displaced, forced to constantly relocate by the advancing Israeli army. Barely a third of the hospitals are functioning. According to Unicef estimates, a child is injured or killed every 10 minutes in Gaza.

Surveilled

Uncover the insidious ways in which our daily lives are being surveilled by the state. In a gripping chase, Ronan Farrow travels across the world following breadcrumbs and finally exposing a dark world of spywares, hacking, and peddling of private information, where activists and journalists are persecuted, and no one is protected from the watchful and vicious eyes of authoritarianism.

Shahida: Brides of Allah

Israeli director Natalie Assouline chronicles the lives of women, mostly young mothers, in prison for involvement in failed suicide attacks/terrorists attacks in Israel. Filmed over two years, this portrait strives to unearth the motivations behind their crimes. With the women's heads and feelings firmly covered, the film reveals no answers, just the heart-breaking tension between humanity and ideology.

Rachel from Ofakim

On the morning of the October 7 attack, Rachel and David Edri were held hostage in their home in Ofakim by a terrorist squad. For 20 hours the couple survived alone with the terrorists until they were rescued by the security forces. During the hours, Rachel offered the terrorists food and drinks, talked with them and took care of one of the wounded.

World War C

It's war. War against an invisible enemy that is not as deadly as we are told. The world is changing rapidly. Disproportionate measures are taken worldwide that disrupt society as a whole. A dichotomy in society forced vaccinations and restrictions on freedom. Have we had the worst? Or is there something more disturbing to awaiting us.

The Good Soldier

A look inside the work of Breaking the Silence, an organization of former IDF combat soldiers who collect and publish testimonies of soldiers who served in the occupied territories. For six months, director Silvina Landsmann, camera in hand, accompanied the staff of the organization. The many hours of footage have been refined into a film that dives into the heart of Breaking the Silence’s work: guided tours of Hebron and the surrounding area, public lectures and house meetings, internal staff meetings and media strategy. All the while the organization is forced to justify its very existence, both internally and to the broader public, and to justify its place in the political debate. The Good Soldier raises questions about Israel’s dynamic mainstream and the challenges of confronting it.

Israelism

When two young American Jews raised to unconditionally love Israel witness the mistreatment of Palestinians, they battle the old guard to create a new movement opposing Israel’s occupation, and recentering Judaism itself.

Theatre In Israel

An English-speaking film produced on behalf of the Israeli Center of the International Theater Institute, providing international audience with an overview of modern Israeli theater, including scenes of renowned Israeli theater productions from the theater season of 1967. The film opens with excerpts from “The Dybbuk” at Habima Theater, and includes scenes from the successful musicals of the Cameri Theater “Utz Li Gutz Li” (Rumpelstiltskin) and “King Solomon and Shalmai The Shoemaker”. Other excerpts include scenes from the plays “The American Princess” by Nissim Aloni at the Seasons Theater, “He Walked Through the Fields” by Moshe Shamir at the Haifa Theater, Ibsen’s “Hedda Gabler”, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf”, and more.

Marching to Zion

Documentary tracing the history of the Jewish people from the destruction of the temple in AD 70 to the modern-day nation of Israel. Through scriptural and historical evidence, DNA, mathematics, and testimony from rabbis and pastors, it attempts to answer the question, "Who are God's chosen people?".

A Song Called Hate

The pro-Palestinian, anti-capitalist, BDSM-provocative, techno-punk performance art ensemble Hatari unsurprisingly drew attention to themselves with their performance at the Icelandic qualifiers for the Eurovision Song Contest. So much so that they won and therefore were allowed to perform at the main event in Tel Aviv. But what now? Should they boycott the event, swallow their idealism, or use their airtime to criticise the host country for their illegal occupation of Palestine? The Icelandic director Anna Hildur joins the boys in the band all the way to the fateful final.