Effondrement

In the northwest of the Negev region, in the “Gaza Belt”, lies the former home of Israeli documentary filmmaker Anat Even. Shortly after the massacre of October 7, 2023, she returns and wanders through the burned-out kibbutz Nir Oz with her camera. Anat Even spends the next two years travelling along and filming the surroundings of the fence that has sealed off the Gaza Strip since the mid-1990s. On her side, tanks now stand alongide farmers, their tractors plough seed furrows, and the farmland is strewn with war machines; beyond the fence, the bombings and explosions that are razing Gaza to the ground become audible and visible. Anat Even is an observant critic and an essayistic cinematographer. In thoughtful voice-over and dialogue, she approaches the truth about the relationship with Gaza – her own, and that of others: her Parisian friend Ariel breaks off their correspondence due to ethical differences; Avitai describes Israel’s destructive military strategy; meanwhile, Palestinian doctor Ezzideen Shehab appeals to the world from Gaza City. A film about anger and loss, dehumanisation and discrimination, war and powerlessness. A painful film that attempts the impossible.(Fabian Tietke, Barbara Wurm)

A filmmaker, author, and producer, Anat Even is an independent Israeli artist. Her works explore themes of memory, identity, and belonging, and offer a critical perspective on Israeli society. For many years, she has taught cinema studies at Sapir College in Sderot. She is a co-editor of ‘Tarkiv’, an online documentary magazine. Her films have been screened and awarded at numerous international festivals.

Director Anat Even. Screenplay Ariel Cypel, Oron Adar, Anat Even. Cinematography Anat Even. Editing Oron Adar. Music Eli Shargo. Sound Design Philippe Grivel. Producer Etienne de Ricaud. Production company Caractères Productions (Paris, France).

Films: 1994: Duda (documentary). 1996: Avram’s Grocery Store (short documentary), Compromise (documentary). 2001: Asurot / Detained (documentary). 2005: Mikdamot / Preliminaries. 2009: Achrey Hasof / Closure (documentary). 2017: Yzcor Le’manshiya / Disappearances (documentary). 2026: Effondrement / Collapse.