http://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/society/114693-160527-heart-shattering-film-about-beer-sheva-bus-station-attack-wins-best-film-award
'Heart shattering' film about Be'er Sheva bus station attack wins best film
By i24news
Published: 05/27/2016 - 03:34pm, updated: 04:00pm
credits/photos : AFP
Film is 'cinematic mirror of an Israeli society inundated by messages of incitement and racism in time of fear
The Tel Aviv documentary film festival Docaviv has named a heart wrenching film that takes a look at human judgment in times of chaos and fear as the winner of the Israeli Film Award.
Death in the Terminal, directed by Tali Shemesh and Asaf Sudry, takes audiences back to October 18, 2015, when a 21-year-old Bedouin Israeli opened fire in the Be'er Sheva central bus station, killing an Israeli soldier and wounding 11 people.
A second victim of the attack, Habtom Zerhum a 29-year-old asylum seeker from Eritrea, was mistaken to be a second terrorist and shot by a security guard on the scene. Angry civilians proceeded to kick and beat him while he lay on the ground bleeding. Zerhum later died from his injuries.
Death in the Terminal revisits that chaotic and tragic day through security camera footage collected from the bus station and follows the chain of events that led to Zerhum death.
On the Docaviv website, the jury posted a statement explaining why this film, which they described as "virtuous and heart shattering", was chosen as the winner.
"The award is given for transcending the apathy of surveillance footage by using them to create a sharp cinematic mirror of an Israeli society inundated by messages of incitement and racism in times of fear. The jury hopes this film sends a sobering outcry and helps imprint the lynching of Habtom Zerhum in Israel’s collective memory," the statement reads.
Additionally, the film won awards for best original music and "the Director Award of Fedeora, the Federation of Film Critics of Europe and the Mediterranean."
In January prosecutors charged four Israelis with counts of injury with grave intent in connection with the beating.
Israeli public radio said one of those charged with "deliberately causing serious bodily harm" was a prison officer and another a soldier.
Following Zarhum's death, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly called on Israelis not to take justice into their own hands, but many see the young man's killing as part of a wider problem in Israel's treatment of African asylum-seekers.
Official figures show 45,000 illegal immigrants are in Israel, almost all from Eritrea and Sudan. African communities complain of marginalization, and they have held several protests against their alleged mistreatment.
The UN says as many as 53,000 refugees have crossed Israel's southern border with Egypt, including 36,000 from Eritrea.
Many are fleeing persecution and they head to Israel due to its high standard of living and its relative ease of access overland from Africa.
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Eritreans mourn at a memorial for Zarhum in Tel Aviv
Received on Fri May 27 2016 - 14:54:24 EDT
