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To See If I’m Smiling (Lir’ot Im Ani Mehayechet)
A film by Tamar Yarom
Israel, 2007, 59 minutes, Color, VHS/DVD, Hebrew, Subtitled
Order No. W08937


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


Sarasota FF, Special Documentary Jury Prize
Int’l Doc F F Amsterdam (IDFA), Silver Wolf Award
Int’l Doc F F, Amsterdam (IDFA), Audience Award
Haifa Int’l Film Festival, Best Documentary

  • One World Int’l Human Rights Documentary Film Festival, Prague
  • FICCO, Festival Int'l of Contemporary Cinema, Mexico City
  • ZagrebDox - Int'l Documentary Film Festival, Croatia
  • Full Frame Documentary Film Festival
  • Sarasota Film Festival

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QUOTES

    “An unusual cinematic experience, courageous, piercing and sharp.”
    Haifa Int’l Film Festival

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“A brave and powerful testimony to the corrosive effect of power.”
Silver Wolf Jury
Int’l Documentary Film Festival, Amsterdam (IDFA)
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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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Women Make Movies is a multicultural, multiracial, non-profit media arts organization which facilitiates the production, promotion, distribution, and exhibition of independent films and videotapes by and about women. contact us