‘Waltz With Bashir’ animator takes on Gaza

Thursday, March 5. The director of animation on the multi-award-winning Israeli film Waltz With Bashir has turned his talents towards the ongoing conflict in Gaza. Yoni Goodman's 90-second animation (below) shows a character attempting to escape from the blockaded Gaza Strip but being stopped at every turn.

Goodman's talents were key to the success of director Ari Folman's critically acclaimed movie which tells the story of an Israeli man coming to terms with his role in the Sabra and Shatila massacre that took place during the first Israel-Lebanon war in 1982. Goodman says that the recent situation in Gaza made this latest production, called Closed Zone, his "mission".

Sari Bashi, the director of Israeli human rights group, Gisha – for whom the film was produced – has said the animation is designed to humanise the situation in Gaza. "It is increasingly difficult to remind people that the residents of the Gaza Strip are human beings who wish to raise children, to earn a living, and realise their dreams both small and large."

Goodman says he began the film before Israel's 22-day offensive in December and January to highlight the fact that not all Gaza residents agree with the way Hamas governs the region. "People talk about Hamas, but there are many civilians there who are not Hamas supporters but who are suffering from this blockade," says the animator.

"This character is this kid, he is kind of a kid and kind of an adult, a bit Arab and a bit Jewish, something that everyone can connect to, and it was very important not to turn this into a stereotypical film," says Goodman. "I hope that when people watch the short they will be able to detach themselves from their automatic associations of good and evil."

FIRST POSTED MARCH 5, 2009