Lookout

Set in Israeli-occupied Gaza, a soldier observes the daily life of a Palestinian village from his lookout post. With binoculars firmly in place, he is both distanced and empathic towards a family he seems to enjoy watching. Perched at his post day after day, he is presented as a naive voyeur unaware that he is violating the family's privacy. Yet the soldier's presence suggests the power and domination he has over their daily lives. Inevitably, he cannot avoid becoming a part of a family - and by extension, national tragedy. Filmmaker Dina Zvi Riklis, an Iraqi-born Israeli, offers a portrait of life under occupation using no dialogue, only the ironic news commentary of an Israeli radio station. The effect is shattering.