Hot Docs 2008

The frank testimonials of six female Israeli soldiers pack a powerful emotional punch. The young women revisit their tours of duty in the occupied territories with surprising honesty and strip bare stereotypes of gender differences in the military. No information seems to be off-limits. The former soldiers share shocking moments of negligence, flippancy, immaturity and power-tripping. The psychological transformation that these young women underwent as a result of military service is both upsetting and riveting. The culture of war transforms people: personalities change, moral codes are subverted, values are supplanted and masks are constructed to dull the pain of what they did and didn't do in uniform. To See if I'm Smiling illustrates how the trauma of war alters personalities and behaviour, and raises questions about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Does military service create more anger, resentment and disagreement, or does it inspire understanding and empathy? Does it propagate or deter hostilities?
-Angie Driscoll

Co-presented with Female Eye Film Festival.