How does the war appear to four Israeli recruits reduced to the extremely limited perspective of a tank’s peephole? The 20-year-old recruits find themselves in action for the first time – and rather than heroic pride, they are overcome with the demoralizing terror of ever-present death. In his debut, awarded the Golden Lion at the Venice IFF, director Samuel Maoz took inspiration from his traumatizing experiences in the First Lebanon War.
June 6, 1982. Israeli armed forces enter Southern Lebanon in response to an assassination attempt against the Israeli ambassador to Great Britain. How is the event seen by four Israeli recruits reduced to the extremely limited perspective of a tank’s peephole? After reaching a border village, the 20-year-olds, with no previous combat experience, find themselves in action for the first time – and rather than heroic pride, they are overcome with the demoralizing terror of the ever-present death to which they are exposed and which they must perpetuate in order to survive. Debut director Samuel Maoz took inspiration from his traumatizing experiences in the First Lebanon War. Following up on Waltz with Bashir by Ari Folman, Lebanon is another film whose Israeli creator investigates questions of personal experience against a backdrop of historical inevitability. The movie met with mixed reviews in Israel but was warmly received at a number of international festivals, including Venice, where it won the Golden Lion.
93 min / Color, 35 mm
Director Samuel Maoz
/ Screenplay Samuel Maoz
/ Dir. of Photography Giora Bejach
/ Music Nicolas Becker
/ Editor Arik Lahav-Leibovich
/ Producer Uri Sabag, Einat Bikel, Moshe Edery, Leon Edery, David Silber, Benjamina Mirnik, Ilann Girard
/ Production Metro Communications, Ariel Films, Arte France Cinema, Arsam International
/ Cast Yoav Donat, Itay Tiran, Oshri Cohen, Michael Moshonov, Zohar Strauss, Dudu Tasa, Ashraf Barhom, Reymonde Amsellem
/ Contact Celluloid Dreams
Samuel Maoz (b. 1962, Tel Aviv) shot his first film at age 13 – footage of his Bar Mitzva. By age 18 he had already made 12 shorts. He graduated as a director of photography from the Beit Zvi School of Performing Arts in the Israeli town of Ramat Gan (1987). He worked as a film and television producer but ultimately decided on direction. In 2000, as part of a series of artistic documentaries, he made Total Eclipse for Arte productions with the participation of Israeli stage and screen actress Evgenia Dodina. He based his acclaimed feature debut Lebanon on his memories of the First Lebanon War, in which he fought as a 20-year-old recruit.
Celluloid Dreams
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Phone: +33 149 700 370
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Samuel Maoz
Film Director
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