The Invisible
Director Gil Karni
Countries Israel
Duration 70 min
Synopsis
I started filming at the end of 1998, documenting a period of eight years in the invisible village, Arab-El-Naim in the Galilee. The Village people are Bedouins who live in the place over 100 years. Many of the villagers, among them Fahim the film's protagonists, served in the Israeli Defense Forces in combat units as pathfinders. Fahim suffered a leg injury while stepping over an explosive charge in the course of his military service in Lebanon. Israel's governments perceived the Bedouins as a threat and a dangerous factor they must block and eradicate. Life in the village is slowly, extremely slowly, just as the coffee brewing process they exercise over wood fire. They live in tin-hut, trying to maintain optimistic appearances. Colorful Geranium flowers growing in olive cans decorate the yards, the villagers trying to camouflage the overall wretchedness, the humiliation they are living day after day. The film filmed in a "single shot cinema" style, and through documenting the lives of Fahim and his familiy, will project the village story. The tension charged encounter between the "desert generation", the elderly who wish to maintain the old village character, and the young generation, the activists, With Fahim and Nimar at the head, who seek progress. They act while cooperating and "exploiting" the power of the camera in favor of their village, and amending the wrong done by the state towards them in the course of decades. Fahim, the pioneer, wish to use the village symbol and at last be part of the Israeli State map. Their struggle plan includes summoning state ambassadors (U.S. Great Britain, etc.), ministers and politicians, to support in their cause. Fahim personal struggle is to receive an authorization to connect his neighbors' tin huts to the electricity network. The villagers still use generators and open fire. Nimar desperately tries to bring the village people into signing the new plans for the village land division. They on the other side hurry nowhere; they are suspicious towards the Israeli administration that ruined their houses in the past. The revolution and the progress the young aspire do not attract them. Government planning committees work slowly, just like the villagers life rhythm.
I started filming at the end of 1998, documenting a period of eight years in the invisible village, Arab-El-Naim in the Galilee. The Village people are Bedouins who live in the place over 100 years. Many of the villagers, among them Fahim the film's protagonists, served in the Israeli Defense Forces in combat units as pathfinders. Fahim suffered a leg injury while stepping over an explosive charge in the course of his military service in Lebanon. Israel's governments perceived the Bedouins as a threat and a dangerous factor they must block and eradicate. Life in the village is slowly, extremely slowly, just as the coffee brewing process they exercise over wood fire. They live in tin-hut, trying to maintain optimistic appearances. Colorful Geranium flowers growing in olive cans decorate the yards, the villagers trying to camouflage the overall wretchedness, the humiliation they are living day after day. The film filmed in a "single shot cinema" style, and through documenting the lives of Fahim and his familiy, will project the village story. The tension charged encounter between the "desert generation", the elderly who wish to maintain the old village character, and the young generation, the activists, With Fahim and Nimar at the head, who seek progress. They act while cooperating and "exploiting" the power of the camera in favor of their village, and amending the wrong done by the state towards them in the course of decades. Fahim, the pioneer, wish to use the village symbol and at last be part of the Israeli State map. Their struggle plan includes summoning state ambassadors (U.S. Great Britain, etc.), ministers and politicians, to support in their cause. Fahim personal struggle is to receive an authorization to connect his neighbors' tin huts to the electricity network. The villagers still use generators and open fire. Nimar desperately tries to bring the village people into signing the new plans for the village land division. They on the other side hurry nowhere; they are suspicious towards the Israeli administration that ruined their houses in the past. The revolution and the progress the young aspire do not attract them. Government planning committees work slowly, just like the villagers life rhythm.