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Last update - 22:31 12/09/2009
Israeli war film 'Lebanon' wins Golden Lion in Venice
By City Mouse Online and News Agencies
Tags: Israel News, IDF, Lebanon 

Lebanon, an Israeli film that recounts Israel's 1982 invasion of its northern neighbor through soldiers' eyes, won the top prize at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday.

The festival jury announced the Golden Lion and other prizes on the last day of the 11-day screening of films from around the world.

The anti-war film, directed by Samuel Maoz, tells the story of Israeli paratroopers searching a hostile town. The conflict is seen through the binocular-aided eyes of those aboard an armored vehicle.


"I dedicate this work to people all over the world that come back from the war safe and sound," the director told the audience at the award ceremony. "They work, get married, have children, but the memories get stuck in their souls."

Maoz was a young man when he served as a combat soldier in the Israel Defense Forces during the invasion.



The operation led to a two-decade long occupation by Israel.

Variety has described the film as the boldest and best of the recent mini-wave of Israeli movies; the New York Times has called "an astonishing piece of cinema."

The awards jury was headed by Ang Lee, himself a Golden Lion-winning director.

Iranian-born Shirin Neshat, meanwhile, won the Silver Lion for best director for "Women Without Men", which chronicles the lives of four women from different walks of life against the backdrop of Iran's foreign-backed coup in 1953.

"This film speaks to the people of Iran fighting to find democracy and it speaks to the government of Iran," she told the closing ceremony.

"I plead to this government to give the people what they should have: basic human rights, freedom and democracy," she added, wearing a green bracelet to symbolize the color of recent street protests against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

At the festival on Saturday, best actor went to Britain's Colin Firth in designer Tom Ford's directorial debut "A Single Man" and best actress went to Russian Ksenia Rappoport for "La Doppia Ora."

Related articles:
  • Horrors of war exposed in new Israeli film 'Lebanon'
  • New Israeli film on Lebanon War makes it to Venice Film Festival
  • Report: Jane Fonda joins boycott of Toronto film festival over homage to Israel
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      1.   Yeah Israel is good in wars 22:44  |  Indigenous 12/09/09
      2.   Ksenia Rappoport 22:55  |  Mike 12/09/09
      3.   indigenous 00:13  |  Connie 13/09/09
      4.   Those who didn`t come back 00:18  |  Jim 13/09/09
      5.   Thanks to the Arabs, Israel is expert at war. 00:52  |  Petra 13/09/09
      6.   To the Pal in Nablus 01:39  |  Mercury 13/09/09
      7.   To the Pal in Nablus 01:39  |  Mercury 13/09/09
      8.   Congrats to the Israeli filmpeople 01:51  |  Mark B. 13/09/09
      9.   congrats 02:55  |  Mark 13/09/09
      10.   indigenous 03:38  |  Gilad 13/09/09
      11.   I Hate It Already (2nd try) 04:05  |  Binyamin 13/09/09
      12.   #2 Mike, who likes the name Ksenia Rappoport 04:43  |  Solovey Razboynik 13/09/09
      13.   To Binyamin 04:53  |  Victor 13/09/09
      14.   Binyamin 04:57  |  Jasper 13/09/09
      15.   To Victor, #13, Enough Already 05:12  |  Jim 13/09/09
      16.   BUNYAMIN Israel has won multiple film awards in dfferent genres 06:07  |  PETER SM 13/09/09
      17.   Jim from Buffalo, thanks... 06:26  |  BBSNews 13/09/09
      18.   Dear Connie... 06:30  |  BBSNews 13/09/09
      19.   Woops!! Israeli humans? Iran women? We forgot to boycott these!!! 06:37  |  Alain 13/09/09
      20.   bbs news 08:54  |  zoe 13/09/09
      21.   Settlement in North Carolina, similar to Palestine? 09:33  |  Joe Sittizen 13/09/09
      22.   Excellent Film! 01:41  |  Karen 14/09/09
      23.   Colonial settlement... 03:20  |  David R 14/09/09
      24.   #1 Indigenious; The eternal truth is that wars are the result 13:58  |  Canadian Historian 14/09/09
      25.   #1 Indigenious; Part 2 The eternal truth is that wars are the re 14:15  |  Canadian Historian 14/09/09
      26.   re: To the Pal in Nablus 15:01  |  js 14/09/09
      27.   Where & When Can we Buy it on DVD ? 15:23  |  Jimmy 14/09/09
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