Avi Mograbi Z32 and a Story of Consciousness

As an Israeli filmmaker, you make documentaries about untold parts of the conflict, war and Israel’s military actions against Palestinians. What was your first contact with Palestine?

I was 11 years old when I went to Palestine for the first time. It was right after the ‘67 war. My parents took me there in the time of euphoria of great victory. At the time, my political convictions were very different than today. I thought what my parents thought, I thought it was great that we were strong. It was a period when my identity was still not set or organized.

When did your political conviction start to take shape? What were your influences?

When I was 16 or 17. Until then I was quite right wing. Then I started to question my convictions and changed rapidly. Little by little you understand the place where you live. There was one book I read at the age of 16, it was called The Other Side of the Coin. The author of the book, Uri Avnery, was a fighter during the 1948 war. Following the war he wrote this book and told about his own experiences. Revealing a dark side of the war, he wrote about the exile of Palestinian people. Until I read it, I wasn’t aware of the Palestinian Naqba. This book was a revelation for me.

When you started making films, who did you intend to reach: the Israeli public or international audiences?

International success came much later. Israeli cinema on an international level didn’t even exist back then. It was intended for the Israeli public. At the time I was thinking more naively about the power of cinema, I thought of it as a tool for change. I was very young and naive.

You don’t believe in cinema’s power anymore?

I still think of cinema as a tool for social change but not necessarily stronger than books or talking to people. Cinema is just not the most influential tool. Politicians and people with money have so much power and they actually make change without asking your opinion. We find ourselves battling defensively against their actions. I am not sure if you can become a leading player in this game through cinema.

How does the Israeli public react to your films?

By ignoring them usually. My films get very good cinematic critiques and they are shown on some cable TV channels in Israel. But I don’t think any public debate started because of my films. I can’t see any actual feedback from the people so it is hard to say.

Do you have screenings of your films in Palestine?

Z32 was screened in Palestine for 20 people recently. It was hard for them to watch: An Israeli soldier cleansing his mind and a filmmaker helping him to do it. They were reluctant to see the critical view of the soldier and the filmmaker. They think that it softened the story too much. It turns a horrific story into something very light. I understand this perspective as all of our experiences throughout our lives determine how we see and interpret different subjects.

We see an ex soldier in Z32 with different masks to veil his face. Why did you prefer to use masks with visual effects?

If you want people to speak intimately you can’t put anything physically on their faces, it is uncomfortable. Also you lose the mimics with a mask and I wanted to see facial expressions. I appear at the beginning of the film with a mask which is a graphic of crime, terrorism, etc. I didn’t want the viewers to create an unconscious image of him as a monster, because he is a normal person who has committed a terrible crime due to many reasons. It was very important for me to maintain the human expression on his face. When he first told me that he would only do the film without exposing his identity, it felt like an obstacle - one which later turned into a creative tool. Digital masks can allow us see the expressions, and for a moment we can forget that there are masks.

Selma Åževkli