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To See If I'm Smiling (Lir’ot Im Ani Mehayechet)
Israel, 2007, 59 minutes, Color, DVD, Hebrew, Subtitled
Order No. W09937
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.
AWARDS, FESTIVALS, & SCREENINGS

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Int’l Doc FF Amsterdam (IDFA), Silver Wolf Award |
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Int’l Doc FF, Amsterdam (IDFA), Audience Award |
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Hot Docs, Special Jury Price |
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WATCH DOCS: Human Rights Int'l Film Festival, Jacek Kuron Short Documentary Competition First Prize |
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Sarasota FF, Special Documentary Jury Prize |
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Haifa Int’l FF, Best Documentary |
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Dokufest, Best Feature Documentary |
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Israeli Documentary Competition, Best Documentary |
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Montpellier Festival, Documentary Prize |
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Notable Video For Adults Award 2009, ALA Video Round Table |
- 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
- Human Rights Watch Int'l Traveling FF
- ZagrebDox - Int'l Doc FF, Croatia
- Montreal Human Rights Film Festival
- Full Frame Doc FF
- San Francisco Jewish FF
- Toronto Jewish FF
- DOXA Vancouver
- Boston Jewish FF
- New Orleans Middle East FF
- Washington Jewish FF
- Palm Beach Jewish FF
- Calgary Jewish FF
- SLC Film Center, UT
- Women's Film Festival, VT
- Visual Arts Center, Richmond
- Cinema Arts Centre, NY
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QUOTES

"Like a short, sharp blow to the solar plexus, Tamar Yarom's [film] stuns with raw, unfiltered emotion."
Ronnie Scheib
Variety
"Truly Powerful"
George Robinson
The Jewish Week
“An unusual cinematic experience, courageous, piercing and sharp.”
Haifa Int’l Film Festival
“3 stars. A frank and haunting look at the dark side of the lives of female soldiers in the Israel defense Force… recommended.”
Video Librarian
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To See If I'm Smiling (Lir’ot Im Ani Mehayechet) is included in the following Special Collections.
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RELATED LINKS

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FILMS ON THE MID-EAST
Interested in gaining more insight and background on the current conflict in the Middle East? Check out WMM’s powerful documentaries made by and about women in that region, including MY LAND ZION and WOMEN IN STRUGGLE.
More details.
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