Israelis Who Are Changing the World

Two films that create one work about the 1948 War of Independence unfold along two axes. One in the past, retelling the events of the war through journals and letters that were written in real time – an ensemble of voices, Jewish and Arab, that create a human story about that dramatic war and allow a glimpse into the way the perception of this war was constructed on both sides. They’re accompanied by breathtaking original footage, a great part of it being shown for the first time. In the present, the characters are battling over the war’s memory – researchers, archivists, members of the unit for detecting missing soldiers. Some are charges with maintaining the ethos, other with its deconstruction. Each one of them believes that how memory of this crucial war will be embedded is critical to the future of our lives here in Israel.

The evolution of the village of Deir Yassin, which was conquered in a highly controversial and pivotal battle in 1948, and which turned into the government-owned psychiatric hospital in 1951.