JIFF: Tantura

“A fascinating, troubling watch.” - Screendaily

From director Alon Schwarz (Aida’s Secrets), this thought-provoking new documentary examines the narrative that has shaped Israeli society since its inception. In 1998, graduate student Teddy Katz published his Masters thesis about a massacre that allegedly took place in the village of Tantura in 1948. Initially received with distinction, his work was later discredited, but 140 hours of audio testimonies remain. Schwartz confronts former Israeli soldiers of the Alexandroni Brigade, now in their 90s, with these tapes. What emerges are complicated and sometimes contradictory accounts that call into question the nature of memory, testimony and even archival footage that has long been part of Israel’s founding myth.

Rating

E

Language

Hebrew (English subtitles)

Director

Alon Schwarz