H2: The Occupation Lab
Idit AVRAHAMI, Noam SHEIZAF
- Israel, Canada
- 2022
- 105min
- 12 +
- DCP
- color
IP
Synopsis
Hebron is a Palestinian city in the southern West Bank of the Jordan River. H2 is the area under the control of Israel. A one-kilometer road within the city is a holy place for both Jews and Muslims, and a microcosm of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, where a policy of segregation was first introduced. Through rare archive footage containing the H2 area and interviews, the film shows the traces of the occupation policy that has created extreme tension and anxiety over the past 54 years.
Review
What is the end of surveillance and violence in everyday life? In a situation where even the freedom to take a walk is deprived, what will we censor ourselves? The lives of those who do not know why or where to express their anger take places in one area of Hebron. Hebron is a city located on the south of the West Bank of the Jordan River and is an autonomous region of Palestine. However, one zone in this region, H2 in the title of this film, is under Israeli control. At H2, Israeli soldiers with machine guns are stationed to keep an eye on and identify Palestinians. Anyone who wants to pass through this area must have a permit for it. Identity proof in H2 is directly related to survival, so no one can let go of tension even for a moment. Capturing these tense moments as an archive video, this film reveals that someone's daily life is a microcosm of conflict and physical violence. And it asks what the anxiety felt in this film is really for.
Director
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Idit AVRAHAMI
She is the director and co-creator of documentary series. Her short documentary Institution Abduction(2019) premiered at the Venice Biennale 2019. Idit graduated with honors from the Sam Spiegel Film and Television School in Jerusalem, where she currently teaches Documentary Film Direction.
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Noam SHEIZAF
Noam Sheizaf is an Israeli journalist and documentarist. Noam is the head of content and research in Dror Moreh's Corridors of Power(2017) and The Human Factor(2019); his first film, Meshulam(2015), premiered at the Haifa FF.