Beaufort

An Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language Film. Built by the Crusaders in the 12th century, Beaufort (or the “Beautiful Fort”) was controlled by the PLO (the Palestine Liberation Organization) during the 1970’s civil war in Lebanon. However, the Israeli army captured the fort in June of 1982, in a battle that marked the beginning of the first Lebanon war. Israeli troops held the strategic Beaufort Castle, in Southern Lebanon, for 18 years (from 1982 to 2000), but internal debates about the occupation and grassroots protests eventually lead to their covert withdrawal. Based on a novel by Rom Leshem, BEAUFORT revives the events that took place before Israeli troops withdrew from this famed military base. When the film begins, a small cohort of soldiers still occupies Beaufort. Led by Liraz (Oshri Cohen), a thoughtful 22-year-old commander who enjoys his role as an army officer, these dedicated soldiers work long days, but increasingly become weary of their mission's purpose.

As the days go by and a relentless aerial bombardment intensifies, Liraz's authority is both challenged by strained soldiers and tested by his superiors. Moreover, bomb specialist Ziv (Ohad Knoller) loses his life when the bomb he is about to defuse explodes, and 19-year-old Zitlawi (Itay Turgeman) dies in a missile attack. Plus, Oshri (Eli Eltonyo), who can´t wait to see his girlfriend in
New Jersey, is also severely injured in a bombing.

The unavoidable end came on May 24, 2000, when the famed Beaufort outpost was blown up with over a thousand mines – and a huge explosion lit up the sky as the Israeli army withdrew from Lebanon.

Rather than deliver a political commentary on the Middle East, BEAUFORT concentrates its incisive eye on the cumulative drudgery, fear, and impotence of the soldiers' routines – the quotidian realities behind the tough exterior shell of the Israeli Defense Force.

“BEAUFORT has an earnest, sober intelligence that makes it hard to shake. It suggests that, for those who fight, the futility of war is inseparable from its nobility.” (A.O. Scott, New York Times)


57th Berlin Film Festival
Silver Bear Winner – Best Director
The Official Submission from Israel
Academy Award – Best Foreign Language Film