Among many celebs that expressed their grief and concern for innocent lives affected during the Israel-Hamas conflict, actor Aseem Chhabra spoke to ETimes and shared how Israel is one the best filmmaking countries in the world today and they make cinema on these conflicts as well.
“Some of the best films that I’ve seen in the last many years are coming out of Iran; Korea too, but some remarkable films are made in Israel and Palestine as well.What is wonderful about Israeli cinema is, well we call Israel a democracy but it doesn’t function like a democracy at all. here’s a way in which the filmmakers are able to be critical about their surroundings, the political and social issues in the country, the way Palestinians are treated, so they’re very good filmmakers. There’s Nadav Lapid who landed in trouble for making comments on The Kashmir Files, he is a very fine filmmaker. He won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival. He won at Cannes two years ago. And it’s not only about politics and social issues, they’ve explored many aspects of life. They certainly make fantastic films,” he said.
Do their films talk about these conflicts? “Yes, they do,” says Aseem. “They talk about conflict. Young Israelis, after they finish high school, have to serve in the army. It is mandatory.”
But how difficult it is for these youngsters to serve in the army when they’re dealing with potential enemy? “So there are many films that have looked at this situation. Sometimes they use humour sometimes they actually show real facets of Israelis in the war and what happens to Israelis. It’s really sad what’s happening with Palestinians but Israelis are suffering too because of the government’s policies. There’s a continuous war that goes on, you keep Palestinians in a polarised way. You literally treat them like animals. I’m not justifying Hamas or their actions but when you pressurise people for so long, they have to revolt because they don’t have other options. Their lands and homes were taken. While that is the story, there’s also a story of how Israelis are suffering because they never know when they’ll be attacked by Hamas rockets, in so many cases, suicide bombers,” he added.
Aseem recalled some fantastic films that have been nominated for Oscars like Paradise Now. “There was a brilliant film that looked at Israeli army during the 1982 war against Lebanon, it’s an animation film called Waltz With Bashir which got an Oscar nomination and I think it won a Golden Globe. There was a film called Lebanon which looks at the plight of Israeli soldiers inside a tank as they enter, the fear that they go through.
But while there are films like that, there are other films also like romantic films. One of my favourite films in the early 2000s was about Indian Jews who migrated to Israel and how miserable they were because they thought that they were going to an European country, but they were put up in these concrete blocks in the middle of a desert. The film was called Turn Left at the End of the World (2004),” he concluded.
“Some of the best films that I’ve seen in the last many years are coming out of Iran; Korea too, but some remarkable films are made in Israel and Palestine as well.What is wonderful about Israeli cinema is, well we call Israel a democracy but it doesn’t function like a democracy at all. here’s a way in which the filmmakers are able to be critical about their surroundings, the political and social issues in the country, the way Palestinians are treated, so they’re very good filmmakers. There’s Nadav Lapid who landed in trouble for making comments on The Kashmir Files, he is a very fine filmmaker. He won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival. He won at Cannes two years ago. And it’s not only about politics and social issues, they’ve explored many aspects of life. They certainly make fantastic films,” he said.
Do their films talk about these conflicts? “Yes, they do,” says Aseem. “They talk about conflict. Young Israelis, after they finish high school, have to serve in the army. It is mandatory.”
But how difficult it is for these youngsters to serve in the army when they’re dealing with potential enemy? “So there are many films that have looked at this situation. Sometimes they use humour sometimes they actually show real facets of Israelis in the war and what happens to Israelis. It’s really sad what’s happening with Palestinians but Israelis are suffering too because of the government’s policies. There’s a continuous war that goes on, you keep Palestinians in a polarised way. You literally treat them like animals. I’m not justifying Hamas or their actions but when you pressurise people for so long, they have to revolt because they don’t have other options. Their lands and homes were taken. While that is the story, there’s also a story of how Israelis are suffering because they never know when they’ll be attacked by Hamas rockets, in so many cases, suicide bombers,” he added.
Aseem recalled some fantastic films that have been nominated for Oscars like Paradise Now. “There was a brilliant film that looked at Israeli army during the 1982 war against Lebanon, it’s an animation film called Waltz With Bashir which got an Oscar nomination and I think it won a Golden Globe. There was a film called Lebanon which looks at the plight of Israeli soldiers inside a tank as they enter, the fear that they go through.
But while there are films like that, there are other films also like romantic films. One of my favourite films in the early 2000s was about Indian Jews who migrated to Israel and how miserable they were because they thought that they were going to an European country, but they were put up in these concrete blocks in the middle of a desert. The film was called Turn Left at the End of the World (2004),” he concluded.
