21 Days Inside
Synopsis
The body of a two-year-old toddler is found at the bottom of a well in a Bedouin village in the Negev Desert. His mother is arrested the very same day, suspected of committing murder. During 21 days of detention and interrogation, police officers exploit her weaknesses in order to make her confess to the crime.
The film is comprised of police archive materials and original reenactments techniques, thus recounting the horrific life story of a traditional Bedouin woman.
Credits
Director(s)
Zohar Wagner
Producer(s)
Zohar Wagner
Cinematography
Amikam Shilo
Original Music
Frank Ilfman
Original Language
Hebrew, Arabic
Subtitles
English, French
Sound Design
Ronen Nagel
Animation
Matt Rota
Festival Highlights
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WINNER
Impact Grand PrixFipadoc2020 -
WINNER
Best Editing AwardTorino Underground Cinefest2021
Torino Underground Cinefest, Italy, Competition, 2021
Ethnocineca, Austria, 2020
Flying Broom Film Festival, Turkey, 2020
Fipadoc, France, Competition, 2020
Docaviv International Film Festival, Israel, Competition, 2019
Le Mois du film documentaire, France, 2020
Arab Women Film Festival, Denmark, 2021
The Association of Israel Studies Conference, USA, 2021
Reviews
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[The film is awarded Best Editing Award] for the mastery with which he manages to unravel the narration of a story, which perhaps would have remained hidden, through a skilful mix of archival documents, recordings, interviews and animation. We were particularly struck by the use of the latter to describe the background of the Bedouin woman and of symbolic objects, such as dolls, to evoke the innocence of dramatically broken childhood. "21 Days Inside" courageously recounts the condition of a woman who can easily expand to that of all women, a condition that is expressed through an emotional crescendo supported by coherence and fluidity offered by the editing itself. Jury's remarks on Best Editing Award at Torino Underground Cinefest