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Israeli director Ari Folman at the 61st Cannes film festival. (Reuters)
Last update - 16:53 15/05/2008
Israeli film at Cannes explores 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacre
By Reuters
Tags: Cannes film festival 

A daring new animated documentary follows Israeli director Ari Folman as he tries to piece together memories of the 1982 massacre of Palestinians in Beirut's Sabra and Shatila camps.

Folman was a soldier in the Israel Defense Forces when it invaded Lebanon earlier that year. It allowed Christian militiamen into the refugee camps and stood by as they went on a killing spree shortly after the assassination of their leader, Bashir Gemayel.

In "Waltz With Bashir," in competition at the Cannes film festival this year and screening as Israel celebrates its 60th anniversary, a soldier among those surrounding the camps witnesses the execution of a family by militiamen.
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It also features a reporter describing a telephone conversation he had with then Israeli Defense Minister Ariel Sharon about rumors he was hearing of the massacre.

Sharon, who resigned as defense minister after a 1983 Israeli inquiry found he bore indirect responsibility for the killings, takes no action.

"Waltz With Bashir" is built around a series of animated reconstructions of real-life interviews Folman conducted with friends and fellow soldiers from the time, as he seeks to remember what his role was in the atrocity.

It portrays young draftees fighting in Lebanon, where many were killed or wounded, and the dreams and hallucinations that many had more than 20 years after the event.

The only non-animation footage is a short sequence at the end showing news photographs of the bodies of men, women and children lying in the streets of the camps after the killings.

"I didn't want you as the audience to go out of the theater after watching 'Waltz With Bashir' and think, yes, this is a cool animation film'," Folman told reporters in Cannes.

"These things happened ... thousands of people were killed, kids were killed, women were killed, old people were killed.

"In order to put the whole film into proportion, those 50 seconds were essential to me."

Parallels with Holocaust

One of the most surprising aspects of the film was the parallel a psychiatrist drew between the Sabra and Shatila massacre and the Holocaust, in which millions of Jews perished.

"The response [to the massacre] in Israel was so huge, in my point of view, because immediately after we had the press release of the first photos of the massacre," he said, when asked about the parallels. "For us Israelis, it was a direct connection to our Jewish history."

Folman insisted that his film was personal, not political, and did not uncover any hidden truths about the atrocity.

He laid the blame for the massacre directly on Christian militia fighters, although the movie does explore to what extent Israeli authorities were complicit.

"Common soldiers are always pawns in a game ... of leaders who play with them," he said.

The movie is one of 22 films in the main competition in Cannes, which was in its second day.

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      1.   freedom of speech 17:10  |  Farhad 15/05/08
      2.   It shows the difference 17:32  |  George 15/05/08
      3.   Trailer looks amazing 17:38  |  Aphemia 15/05/08
      4.   Israeli director wants prize? Just demonize Israel and it`s yours 18:41  |  Freethinker 15/05/08
      5.   Israeli film at Cannes explores 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacre 18:42  |  Ben BEB 15/05/08
      6.   4 - Freethinker 18:58  |  ScotGuy 15/05/08
      7.   two points 19:18  |  curious george 15/05/08
      8.   I still don`t understand why Arabs blame Israel for the massacre 19:19  |  Richard S 15/05/08
      9.   to freethinker 19:21  |  curious george 15/05/08
      10.   Why aren`t arab atrocities explored? 19:38  |  mr soda man 15/05/08
      11.   WHAT ABOUT THE DAMOUR MASSACRE????? 19:41  |  BOB 15/05/08
      12.   #6 ScotGuy; Blaming Israel for Sabra& Shattila is an excuse... 19:50  |  Max Zamir 15/05/08
      13.   SHARON BY SHARON 19:58  |  indrajaya 15/05/08
      14.   #9 Curious George; Thats an easy task. Lets start with 20:19  |  Haham me Bat Yam 15/05/08
      15.   To curious george 20:23  |  Freethinker 15/05/08
      16.   To 1,4,8,10 20:23  |  Maurice 15/05/08
      17.   to Bat Yam 20:31  |  curious george 15/05/08
      18.   The militia were collaborating with Israel 20:41  |  Marilyn 15/05/08
      19.   Google "Palestinian movies" you`ll see that they all get awards, 20:46  |  there`s a common 15/05/08
      20.   This will never be shown in the US 20:50  |  W 15/05/08
      21.   Guys.. guys.. come on!! 20:50  |  ScotGuy 15/05/08
      22.   sabra and chatila 20:57  |  Ricardo Levy 15/05/08
      23.   TO # 16 21:17  |  ACKUBAR2280 15/05/08
      24.   Indrajaya #13 21:21  |  Canadian Clean 15/05/08
      25.   to Richard S. : not too hard to understand! 21:26  |  John 15/05/08
      26.   to W: yes it`ll show in US! 21:30  |  John 15/05/08
      27.   Its been used in anti-Israel propaganda ever since 21:36  |  Scharker Yid 15/05/08
      28.   Hypocrites 22:56  |  William 15/05/08
      29.   @ 19 Marylin the Aussie; And this is also well known 23:15  |  Haham me Bat Yam 15/05/08
      30.   BY FLARES BIRGHT LIGHTS AT SABRA AND SHATILLA 23:27  |  JOHN ISH ISHMAEL 15/05/08
      31.   Cheap stuff, Richard S. and Sharker Yid 23:52  |  Mark B. 15/05/08
      32.   When talking about Sabra & Shatila: "JEWS!!" 00:05  |  Catholic Israeli 16/05/08
      33.   BY FLARES BIRGHT LIGHTS AT SABRA AND SHATILLA 00:40  |  JOHN ISH ISHMAEL 16/05/08
      34.   Why you should spit on Israel 00:49  |  milo 16/05/08
      35.   George #2 01:09  |  JJ 16/05/08
      36.   #23 "They" were a bad (defective) seed that contributed 01:26  |  Ralph 16/05/08
      37.   richard s 8 01:42  |  potobac 16/05/08
      38.   To: Curious George... 02:25  |  Adam 16/05/08
      39.   #8, RICHARD S, are you stupid? it`s moraly wrong 02:37  |  VIPER 16/05/08
      40.   #28, HAHAM, gees the half truths again by a zionist 02:41  |  VIPER 16/05/08
      41.   What irony 03:09  |  first timer 16/05/08
      42.   Hacham :lo kol kach haham part1 03:11  |  Arthur 16/05/08
      43.   #Richard S. The innocent victims of Shatila and Sabra... 03:27  |  Maureen Ann 16/05/08
      44.   Hacham: lo kol kach haham part2 03:34  |  Arthur 16/05/08
      45.   How about a new film on the tragedy of the west bank roadblocks? 04:23  |  Aounist 16/05/08
      46.   wow another steve speilberg 05:13  |  hal tripp 16/05/08
      47.   Outrageous! 05:27  |  Shalom 16/05/08
      48.   To Aounist, no.39 05:33  |  Sam C 16/05/08
      49.   #38 Arthur; Truth is not propaganda, and shouldn`t be 06:01  |  Haham me Bat Yam 16/05/08
      50.   # 34 Viper; How idiotic psots are so freely printed in by Haartez 06:13  |  Haham me Bat Yam 16/05/08
      51.   #39..roadblocks 06:52  |  yitz 16/05/08
      52.   # 37 Arthur; Your arguments have no leg to stand on 06:54  |  Haham me Bat Yam 16/05/08
      53.   # 40 Arthur; I missed out few additional examples: 07:05  |  Haham me Bat Yam 16/05/08
      54.   #39 Maureen 07:56  |  DavidinHaifa 16/05/08
      55.   A Tremendous Lapse Of Judgement 09:22  |  Yosemite 16/05/08
      56.   The Bottom Line 09:34  |  Yosemite 16/05/08
      57.   Easy For Me To Say From Over Here 09:38  |  Yosemite 16/05/08
      58.   Farhad 09:43  |  x-ray 16/05/08
      59.   Yosemite; Al-Jazeera hired this week the known 15:51  |  Max Zamir 16/05/08
      60.   adam34 18:13  |  potobac 16/05/08
      61.   Seen it at Cannes 18:19  |  B 16/05/08
      62.   Sabra and Shatila film 00:02  |  John partington 17/05/08
      63.   Sharon is utterly culpable 04:38  |  Ben Alofs 17/05/08
      64.   Sharon`s responsibility 04:51  |  Ben Alofs 17/05/08
      65.   for those not familiar, #30 John is referring to ... 05:33  |  newageblues 17/05/08
      66.   shame on this artistic investigation 16:14  |  torino 17/05/08
      67.   No 28, =Sheer Ignorance from a soldier that 17:27  |  Arthur 17/05/08
      68.   #40 Viper 05:57  |  Rab Burns 18/05/08
      69.   to # 24 (Clean Canadian) 12:18  |  Free Thinker 18/05/08
      70.   jew of france must support israeli propaganda against israel 22:03  |  mike 19/05/08
      71.   #4 I couldn`t agree more with you. 23:07  |