Carleton to Screen Acclaimed Animated Israeli Film, Waltz With Bashir

Carleton College will host a special screening of the critically acclaimed Oscar-nominated animated Israeli documentary film “Waltz with Bashir” on Wednesday, May 20 at 7:30 p.m. in Leighton Hall, room 304, with a follow-up discussion on Friday, May 22 at 4 p.m. in the same location. Both events are free and open to the public.

Directed by Ari Folman, “Waltz with Bashir” is a ground-breaking personal account of the horrors of the 1982 Lebanon War. Premiered at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, where it was nominated for a Palme d’Or, the film has garnered international acclaim and has received multiple film honors, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film, a Best Animated Feature Award from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, and both a Best Picture Award and Best Foreign Language Film Award from the National Society of Film Critics. The film was also nominated for a 2009 Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. A.O. Scott of the New York Times wrote, “A memoir, a history lesson, a combat picture, a piece of investigative journalism, and an altogether amazing film.”

Considered a ground-breaking form of animated film, “Waltz with Bashir” contains fictional composites of real life figures and actual living people, including its director, Ari Folman, who recently finished his own military service in Israel. Some twenty years before, he served in the Israel Defense Forces during the 1982 Lebanon War. Taking over four years to complete, “Waltz with Bashir” combines classical music, 1980s music, realistic graphics and surrealistic scenes together with illustrations similar to comics. The only part of the film which wasn’t made by means of animation is a short segment at the very end of the film which shows the documented results of the Sabra and Shatila massacre in a news archive footage.

This special screening of “Waltz with Bashir” is thanks to a first-ever joint effort between the Carleton College Departments of Judaic Studies, Hebrew, and Arabic. The idea to bring the film to Carleton was initiated the Middle East Club, a newly founded student organization in which students from diverse backgrounds and political viewpoints meet every week to discuss current events and culture from across the Middle East. First year student Jean Rhodes (Hong Kong), the founder of the club, has worked extensively of Stacy Beckwith, associate professor of Hebrew and director of Judaic studies, in order to bring this event to fruition.

Beckwith and Carleton College Vice President and Treasurer Fred Rogers will be present at both the screening and the discussion to introduce the film and share their personal insights.

This event is jointly sponsored by the Departments of Arabic, Hebrew, and Judaic Studies. For more information or disability accommodations, please contact sbeckwit@carleton.edu. For further information on this acclaimed film, visit www.waltzwithbashir.com.