Israeli director Nadav Lapid decries 'blindness' over Gaza
In "Yes", he portrays a society buried under its own "dark side" since Palestinian militants Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.
"Blindness in Israel is unfortunately a fairly collective illness," the 50-year-old director told AFP at the Cannes festival where "Yes" premiered on Thursday.
Over nearly two and a half hours, it follows a musician named Y, who is commissioned by the authorities to rewrite the Israeli national anthem into a propaganda piece calling for the eradication of Palestinians.
"What happened on October 7, the level of horror and cruelty, pushed everything to a biblical scale," he said.
"The great Israeli fantasy... of waking up one day to find the Palestinians gone has become a political programme."
He added that "very few people are standing up to say that what is happening in Gaza is unbearable" and that there is "a kind of consensus about the superiority of Israeli lives over Palestinian lives".
In one scene, Y and his wife (Shai Goldman) continue feeding their baby while glancing indifferently at their phones, which display notifications of new deadly airstrikes in Gaza.
In another, a small crowd gathers on a rooftop to dance joyfully to the sound of fighter jets overhead.
On the eve of the Cannes festival, Lapid was among more than 380 film figures, including major Hollywood actors, to sign an open letter condemning the film industry's silence on what it called "genocide" in Gaza.
Isolated
Lapid said he had to overcome numerous obstacles before starting the film, which was carried out in "guerrilla mode" as the Israeli offensive in Gaza was under way.
Technicians and actors pulled out, and some backers chose not to get involved.
"I was told people no longer make political films on these subjects. They no longer want films for or against" the war, said the director.
"Yes" also refers to the only answer artists are allowed to give in Israel when asked about their support for the war, according to lead actor Ariel Bronz.
"Our first duty as artists is not to go where the wind is blowing," said Bronz, who caused uproar in 2016 by inserting an Israeli flag into his anus during a performance in Tel Aviv.
"We need to pay a personal price and it's a real struggle to survive in this position where you're totally isolated in your own country," he told AFP.
French producers backed the film and there was also support from an independent Israeli public fund despite its biting tone.
"Yes" will open in European cinemas in September, but no Israeli distributor has so far agreed to screen it.
"If I didn't have inside me the ambition, the hope, the pride and the fantasy to shake things up, I wouldn't have made it," Lapid added.
"I think society needs a shock, and I hope this film will be one."
The Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 left 1,218 people dead on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. A further 251 people were taken hostage.
Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 53,762 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euronews
an hour ago
- Euronews
Highlights and standouts of Green Man Festival 2025
A central focus building up to this year's Green Man Festival was whether a set by controversial Belfast trio Kneecap would even take place. The Northern Irish group's frontman Mo Chara is due to appear in court later this week for a terror offence charge for allegedly displaying the flag of proscribed terror group Hezbollah during a gig. Other festivals have dropped the act, but Kneecap remained on the Green Man bill. While festival owner Fiona Stewart declined to comment on that decision, citing the ongoing legal proceedings, when Mo Chara hit the stage on a blisteringly hot Thursday night, he was far from bashful. 'We'd like to thank Green Man,' Mo Chara shouted between bouts of their big beat Irish language rap tracks. 'A few festivals have fallen under the pressure and taken us off their line-up but not Green Man.' He continued by saying that he was ready to fight the UK government on 'their terms' in court as part of a high-energy set that continually emphasised Kneecap's longstanding support of the Palestinians. If Kneecap were the focal point of headlines about the festival prior to its opening, the plight of the Palestinians in Gaza remains the central theme of most performances. Rarely is a set finished without reference to them, alongside calls to support trans rights. It's all part of Green Man's appeal. As the UK's biggest independent festival, the event feels unique from its contemporaries. Charming quirks abound, from the roving posties delivering letters to fellow campers to a not-so secret queer stage hidden behind a shop front. Despite being a sold-out event, Green Man never feels hectic and overcrowded. You wonder if its independence has meant organisers are more willing to not oversell tickets, allowing for an overall nicer experience at the expense of profiteering. Across the weekend's line-up, more treats were in store. Friday's headliners Wet Leg were an intravenous injection of pure adrenaline. Their debut single 'Chaise Longue' was a surprise hit in 2021 even if they've barely just put out their second album 'Moisturizer', frontwoman Rhian Teasdale appeared a seasoned pro, striking a toned silhouette and commanding the stage with physical authority and bold vocals. Stand-out set of this year's weekend went to Irish country-pop star CMAT. Launching through her songs, Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson brought joyful reverie to the picturesque Mountain Stage. Getting the entire crowd to two-step in sync for 'I Wanna Be A Cowboy, Baby!' was just the beginning of the fun as she charmed the crowd with playful banter and earnest appreciation for Wales' effort to protect its language. A consummate performer, CMAT's voice echoed through the Brecon Beacons as she reached the highs of 'Stay for Something', leaving all enraptured. It was the perfect state to be left in as Welsh electronic duo Underworld hit the stage. In one of the most explosive sets of the weekend, Underworld transported the grassy knoll of the Mountain Stage to a 90s rave for the festival's most euphoric moment, 'Born Slippy Nuxx' - best known from the Trainspotting soundtrack. The festival returned to calmer but still impressive shores on Sunday night for Beth Gibbons' set. The Portishead frontwoman put together a hypnotic performance of her latest solo album 'Lives Outgrown', with her voice's astonishing range matched by the breadth of her orchestral accompaniment. When she rolled out Portishead classic 'Glory Box', there was little doubt as to Gibbons' legendary status. Beyond the main acts, other highlights included Green Man fan favourite band Melin Melyn. The hyperactive group's pantomime hijinks as they sing Welsh-language odes to their fictionalised Mill on the Hill show why they're such an enduring hit at the festival. Similar thrills came from indie darlings Los Campesinos!, who delivered a jubilant set. This year's line-up featured a broad range of international acts - from the delightful gospel croonings of Annie & the Caldwells to DRC afrofuturist group Fulu Miziki. Entrancing sets from German-Turkish group Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek and a charming performance from Indian-American 80-year-old singer Asha Puthli added to the stacked line-up. Fans of the heavier stuff also got their fill with the stomping klezmer-inflected post-punk group Fat Dog, while Yard Act pulled in one of the biggest and bounciest crowds for their shouty take on the genre. Elsewhere, rising star Jacob Alon also provided one of the most beautiful sets of the weekend. Battling the heat as it routinely detuned their guitars, their musical virtuosity and haunting voice created a symphonic lullaby in the Walled Garden. From small touches such as a crab-costumed group wandering the stages to the burning of the monumental Green Man effigy, this year's edition proved once again why it is one of the UK's most beloved festivals. Our advice? Don't miss out in 2026.
LeMonde
5 days ago
- LeMonde
Who's going to lie down on the couch? 'The Sopranos,' the first TV series to tackle mental health
A man suffers a panic attack. On the advice of his general practitioner, he consults a psychiatrist. She diagnoses him with clinical depression, and he begins therapy. Over the course of their sessions, he talks (a lot) about his mother, with whom he has a complicated relationship. He discusses his wife, his son and daughter, his own childhood, the memory of his deceased father and his work. Nothing particularly remarkable. Except that the protagonist of The Sopranos – whose first episode aired on January 10, 1999, on the American network HBO – is not an ordinary patient. Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) is a mafia boss, head of a New Jersey "family." This man, who has a string of misdeeds to his name, falls apart when the wild ducks he loved to watch paddling in his pool fly away. From today's perspective, following an individual's mental health struggles seems unremarkable. Mental health is now everywhere in TV series, with a wide range of patient profiles. En thérapie (In Therapy), created by Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache and adapted from the Israeli series BeTipul, with two seasons broadcast on Arte in 2021 and 2022, put a surgeon, a police officer from the search and intervention brigade, a business executive and a student on the couch. 13 Reasons Why (2017) unfolds as an investigation into the suicide of a teenage girl. Atypical (2017) follows a young man on the autism spectrum, while the animated series BoJack Horseman (2014) centers on a washed-up actor dependent on sex, alcohol and drugs.
France 24
6 days ago
- France 24
US singer Billy Joel to sell off motorcycles due to health condition
In May, Joel scrapped dates in Britain and a packed schedule crisscrossing the United States from July 2025 up until July 2026 because of a diagnosis of a rare condition, Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (NPH). "Due to a recent medical diagnosis, Billy will be auctioning off his bike collection later this year," his publicist told AFP. Joel's extensive collection of motorcycles is housed at a shop in the Long Island town of Oyster Bay, where they can be seen free of charge on weekends. "He will not be renewing the lease on the 20th Century Cycles bike shop once it expires late September," the publicist said. The 76-year-old "We Didn't Start the Fire" and "New York State of Mind" legend has been a pop mainstay since the 1970s, and motorcycles have long been part of his public persona. In the hit song's music video, he whisks away an "Uptown Girl" on the back of his motorcycle, and sings about riding a motorcycle in the rain in the song "You May Be Right." His collection includes more than 75 bikes, per the shop's website. "I like the older style," with some motorcycles dating back to the 1940s, Joel said in a promotional video. Joel's condition arises if cerebrospinal fluid cannot properly flow throughout the brain and spinal cord, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. The excess fluid and pressure can cause brain damage. The institution said on its website that NPH is rare, and can cause cognitive impairment including memory problems as well as trouble walking. Joel said previously "this condition has been exacerbated by (previous) concert performances, leading to problems with hearing, vision, and balance."
