Israeli director Rona Segal’s award-winning short documentary Mission: Hebron will have its U.S premiere at AFI Docs running June 22-27, 2021.
In Israel, soldiers are recruited at the age of 18. A couple of months later, they are already in charge of Palestinian civil life, in almost every aspect. Their missions might include breaking into family homes, enforcing lockdowns, or arresting children. Six ex-soldiers face the camera, and recall their recent service. Including rare cell-phone footage, captured by local witnesses, Mission: Hebron offers an unflinching guide to ;the most troubled city in the West Bank.
“When I was 18 years old, I joined the army – the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Recruitment is mandatory in Israel, and we are educated never to doubt its necessity. I wanted to be a filmmaker, so I pulled every string I could in order to get to the IDF Filming Unit. As strange as it sounds, the army was where I learned to make movies. Mission: Hebron allows me to go back to those years in the army, but this time with a critical perspective – a perspective 18 year olds simply don’t have.’ said Rona Segal.
Watch the trailer (below) for Mission: Hebron.
Mission: Hebron had its world premiere at IDFA 2020 and went to win Tampere Short Film Candidate for the European Film Awards 2021 at Tampere Film Festival; and Best Short Documentary at 2020 Jerusalem Film Festival.
Rona Segal is an Israeli director and screenwriter for film, television, and web. She wrote the feature film Six Acts (2013), TVE-Another Look Award winner at the San Sebastian Film Festival, Best Screenplay and Best Debut Award at the Haifa International Film Festival, and an official selection at Tribeca Film Festival, Gothenberg Film Festival, and more. Six Acts was distributed worldwide by French distributor Playtime. She previously wrote two TV series, Screenz and HaMaarechet, for Israeli networks. The two series were nominated for Best Israeli Drama and Teen Drama at the Israeli TV Awards. Screenz was bought for distribution by Sony Classics. Among her recent works are the live action short Big Cats (2019), an official selection at Jerusalem Film Festival 2019, and Caught in the Web (2020), a documentary web series, nominated for the 2021 Israeli TV awards.