Defamation | Hashmatsa
Defamation
Asia Pacific Premiere
Hashmatsa
Israel/Denmark/USA/Austria 2009 / 93min. / Hebrew, Polish, Russian with English subtitles.
Director Yoav Shamir. Producers Karoline Leth, Knut Ogris, Philippa Kowarsky, Sandra Itkoff.
Controversy isn’t new terrain for Director Shamir. And controversy is the likely response to Defamation, his new documentary focused on anti-Semitism.
After being accused by an American Jewish newspaper writer of being an anti-Semite, Shamir turns on his camera a la Michael Moore and travels in search of the world’s ‘oldest hatred’.
Is anti-Semitism a real threat to the existence of Jews? Is it capable of manifesting itself into a second Holocaust? Or is it a scare tactic used by right-wing Zionists to discredit their critics?
Opinions differ and tempers flare in the discussion. Abraham Foxman, Head of the Anti-Defamation League, believes that anti-Semitism is ubiquitous and requires constant vigilance to be kept in check. Norman Finkelstein, a controversial author and son of Holocaust survivors, asserts it is a conspiracy orchestrated by Israel itself to undermine critics of its policy.
The film allows both men their moments of visionary clarity as well as unhinged ramblings. But they are only two voices in a cacophonous global argument.
Defamation reflects on a debate often muddied by misinformation, bias, and ulterior motives. At the end, Shamir says, “Putting too much emphasis on the past, as horrific as it has been, is holding us back.”
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Submitted19 Jan 2009InWhats On and Reviews
