In the Tokyo International Film Festival’s competition section with “Tel-Aviv/Beirut,” Michale Boganim (“Odessa, Odessa,” “Land of Oblivion”) has directed a historical drama set against the backdrop of the Israeli–Lebanese conflict in 1982 and 2006. Filmed in Northern Israel, it tells the story about two families whose fates are intertwined due to the war in Lebanon. This film focuses on the lesser-known story about Lebanese citizens who worked with the Israeli army in fighting Hezbollah. Variety spoke with her about her work.
Why choose this topic? And why not tell us about this bit of recent history right now?
Ich was a victim of war. It shocked me greatly. Because my father had been through war, it made me realize that war can be transgenerational. It can continue to repeat itself.
I was then able to discover a story about the Lebanese community while living in Israel. I happened to be in a restaurant in the north of Israel that day and began to ask these people questions. I was able to hear their stories. I didn’t know about these Lebanese people who escaped Lebanon, because they collaborated with Israel.
Your film’s first half shows people constantly crossing the border. Although this seems fluid, it becomes clear that only the deceased can cross the border.
They closed the border when there wasn’t war and opened it when there was peace. It’s very contradictory that the border opens only when there was war.
You shot during the pandemic and you didn’t shoot in Israel, but used Cyprus instead. Is that intentional?
It was my only option to bring together independent and Israeli actors. This could be the first ever time that Lebanese-Israeli actors work together. I cannot go in Lebanon because I’m Israeli.
The easy part was that one of the main actors was living in Paris. And some were living in Cyprus, because there’s a big Lebanese community in Cyprus that escaped the war.
You’ve done documentaries before, including one in part of East Asia, Macau.
It was a documentary I did for Arte. It was basically one day in Macau, from morning to evening. I followed different characters to see all the aspects. I found the city contradictory. There was a contradiction between the religious and the totally depraved aspects of casinos and prostitution. I was extremely lucky to have the opportunity to film inside the largest casino as well as interview some members of the triads.
Your work flies between documentary and fiction films.
They are all influenced each other, I believe. You could see. [documentary] “Odessa, Odessa” it’s all also very staged, and very scripted. My fiction films are based on true stories. Also, I made a film on Chernobyl. I enjoy combining fiction and reality, so I prefer to work with real stories and political stories. The difference is minimal. Just when you say to the producer that you’re doing fiction, they put your 40 people on set and huge trucks. Documentary requires five people. Macau’s film is extremely cinematic, and it was done with only five people.
Do you feel pressured by distributors or producers? To be more neutral? To be more neutral?
However, I was also trying. And I don’t know if it’s the right choice. [As audiences] we’re often expecting a film to take a side. This film shows that there is no side. There are only victims.
I don’t think it’s right to seize on a situation like that because for many people who are enrolled to the army, it’s not really their choice. They are both victims and the country as a whole. And when you have a son, a soldier that dies, it’s also sad. Is that not the case? They’re young people. They’re 18. Sometimes it’s not their decision. The film shows that the son signed up for the army because of the system’s influence. He said if I don’t do the army, I wouldn’t be considered like a deserter. I may lose my friends, or not be able come back to the country.
What are your next projects?
I’m trying to do film in New York, about the Orthodox community. It’s a fiction premise, but it was based on real people. I’ve met with a lot of people that are in this between world. They have left the Orthodox Church and created a society of their own. ‘ex orthodox.’
A project I have in Poland is also about women. It’s the story of women that were in prison during Solidarnosc [Solidarity]Gdansk prison, and the Russians used a lot of violence inside. The Russians’ brutality and cruel treatment of people at that time is evident.