Palestinian filmmaker Raed Andoni wins the Berlinale Film Festival’s Silver Bear for best documentary for his film “Istiyad Ashbah” (“Ghost Hunting”), a reenactment by former inmates of what takes place at Israel’s main interrogation center.
Andoni, 49, recreated the interrogation room in a Ramallah basement, with former inmates discussing prison life and the humiliations they endured during detention.
According to a review in Variety, which called it an “ethically problematic documentary,” the film uses the outdated notion of acting out one’s trauma as a means of catharsis, as Andoni watched his actors verbally and physically abuse one another.
Raed Andoni, the Palestinian filmmaker whose documentary won a Silver Bear at the Berinale Film Festival (Courtesy Raed Andoni)
Andoni, who was himself detained at age 18, placed a newspaper ad looking for former prisoners for his film.
The film mixes graphics with live action.
Andoni’s previous film was “Fix Me.”
— Jessica Steinberg
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
From the Liveblog of
Sunday, February 19, 2017
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
