Harsh reality at roadblocks
Local film wins international award
Yaov Shamir’s “Checkpoint,” which shows daily routine at West Bank roadblocks, already won 12 international awards
TEL AVIV - Yoav Shamir’s “Checkpoint,” a local documentary offering a humane, sobering glimpse into the daily routine at West Bank IDF roadblocks, took first prize at the Point of View international film festival in Spain.
The movie competed against 24 other movies in the best international documentary category.
Checkpoint has already won 12 international awards in the past year, including in festivals in Amsterdam, San Francisco, and Toronto.
The film depicts the daily routine at roadblocks near the West Bank towns of Ramallah, Jenin, and Nablus, while presenting the dilemmas faced by both sides of the conflict.
IDF screens movie to officers
The film’s power stems to a large extent from the lack of harsh criticism or rhetoric. There are no “bad guys” and “good guys” in the movie, with Shamir managing to show the scars suffered by people on the two sides of the roadblock, both Israeli soldiers and Palestinian civilians.
“Terrorists don’t go through checkpoints,” one Palestinian mutters as he walks away from the roadblock at one point, as if saying those who pay the price of terror are the simple people caught up in an unbearable reality.
Notably, the IDF decided the movie was important enough to be screened for officers serving in the West Bank and Gaza.
