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Screening will start at 12:00 Noon US EDT; 19:00 Palestine, 18:00 Europe
Released 2003, Running Time 93 minutes, English subtitles. The film screening will be followed by a discussion and Q&As with film director Yoav Shamir.
Synopsis
Checkpoint - is a cinema verite documentary, which captures the enforced encounters between Israeli soldiers and Palestinians at military checkpoints throughout the West Bank.
The West Bank and Gaza Strip have been under Israeli military authority since 1967. Over three million Palestinians live in a nation under Israeli occupation. When they want to move from one village or city to another, to visit relatives or doctors, or to go to work, they have to pass through Israeli checkpoints. After years of attacks, dozens of these heavily guarded checkpoints have been set up. From 2001 to 2003, director Yoav Shamir has filmed and created a moving vérité record of various occurrences at these checkpoints. This experiential film conveys a saddening series of encounters between the humiliated Palestinians and the heavily armed, often very young soldiers, who sometimes feel uneasy in their commanding roles. But these men are often self-assured, too, apparently taking pleasure in intimidating the Palestinians, having them wait for hours in the burning sun or pouring rain. The tension is palpable when a large group of Palestinian people ignores the order to return and collectively pass the roadblocks. The general impression is one of an endless situation, in which people on both sides are forced into positions that leave little room for human dignity.
Yoav Shamir
About Director
Based in Tel-Aviv, Yoav Shamir is an accomplished award-winning documentary director, producer and cinematographer in film and television. His work reflects his passion to probe and uncover difficult and polarizing subject matter through an observational lens, delivering penetrating and ethically challenging interviews with an accessible charm, which entertains and appeals to a broad audience.
Yoav Shamir’s films have screened at international film festivals, and were broadcast on the following channels internationally: Arte/ZDF, VPRO, BBC, Channel 4, Sundance Channel, ITVS, SBS Australia, CBC Canada, SVT, DR1, Israeli Channel 2, Israeli Channel 1, Israeli Channel 8, France 5, and Canal+.
His critically acclaimed award winning documentary feature films include Marta & Luis (2001), Checkpoint (2003), 5 Days (2005), Flipping Out (2007) and Defamation (2009).
Yoav Shamir graduated from Tel-Aviv University with a Bachelor of Arts in history and philosophy, and a Masters in Fine Arts in Cinema.
Yoav has recently decided to expand his career from a Director and Cinematographer into a Production Company providing a variety of production services focused on producing high-quality factual content as well as act as a consultancy service for filmmakers who can benefit from Yoav Shamir's vast production experience.