DMZ국제다큐멘터리영화제

The Cavalry

Canada, USA202417minDCPColor12

Asian Premiere

SYNOPSIS

A semi-documentary following the training of '7,' a horse in the Israeli police cavalry for crowd control. Filmed in 2023 across Israel and the occupied West Bank, the film intercuts intense training footage with archival imagery of horses used in historical land dispossession. Through ghostly equine figures, repetitive urban movements, and dense sound design, it visualizes state power, obedience, structural control, and oppression without dialogue or interviews. The work reflects on how sentient beings are transformed into instruments of authority and institutional discipline.

REVIEW

Opening with a kaleidoscopic collage of horses and riders—translucent silhouettes and jewel-toned fragments seemingly conjured from the animals’ own imagination—The Cavalry draws us into the life of “7,” a horse employed by the Israeli police. Cross-cutting between 7’s training and vividly tinted historical scenes, the film distills the long, fraught role horses have played in the displacement of Palestinians from their homes and land. A striking wide shot from the West Bank shows a lone horse straining to leap a barrier amid a dense cluster of houses. Like a citizen drilled into obedience, 7 is schooled in the art of submission. This visual allegory runs through the film’s central, haunting question: if the essence of liberation is to give voice to the voiceless, how can we speak for those—human or nonhuman—whose silence can never be broken?

DIRECTOR'S NOTE

As a filmmaker who immigrated to Israel from the former Soviet Union and has chosen not to live there, I approached The Cavalry with a deep sense of questioning about power, belonging, and identity. My experiences as an outsider shaped my view on occupation and authority, compelling me to explore these themes. It is a film that invites dialogue on justice, resilience, and shared histories of conflict.

DIRECTOR

Alina ORLOV

Born in Moscow, 1990. Alina Orlov is a filmmaker and visual artist trained at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She has presented her work at the Locarno Film Festival, Doc Fortnight, and VIFF.