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hebrew - עברית

 


a glance at a land that no longer exists
feature documentary (93') 
a personal, dramatic and emotional  journey through
20 of the Israeli villages dotting the Gaza Strip
one month prior to Gush Katif's inevitable destruction

"A fateful vision of the Gaza Strip."
Francis Plourde, Cultural Writer, THE UBYSSEY

"
images of what was and what could have been."
Meg Johnstone, Journalist

feel the music:
Composer Ben Euerby's
Surreal's Original Score
Sampler (MP3)


NEW!
Surreal's Trailer  
       

 
(03:15 / 15MB)   

 

> screenings
> critics
> reviews
> press kit

> Sep. 14 - thank you


> Sep. 26 - thank you

 
 
> CRITICS | Surreal
 
> JUST IN:


"Still blowing the sand out of my eyesI'm struck
The music is hypnotic
-- so forlorn and appropriate." 

Tom Shandel
Documentary Filmmaker
(the innovator behind The Corporation phenomena)
Cowichan Bay, BC, Canada



"Surreal gave me a look at a piece of the world we hear so much about at a moment in time that will never be repeated."
Danny Singer
West Vancouver, BC, Canada


"Brilliant work." 
Dor Givon
Tel Aviv, Israel


"Surreal shed light for me on a reality that I could not have otherwise imagined
The
farewell visit to the Gaza Strip is just that, Surreal.
For me it was both the first and the last time that I witnessed Israeli life in the Gaza Strip. 
I have only ever been exposed to brief flashes on the tv news or reportings on the radio
but never a view from the angle that Erez presents to us in this documentary.

The combination of moving and still images is both creative and effective in capturing the essence of the journey by bringing the viewer along for the ride

Wh
en watching the film I often felt that I was right there with them in the car. 
The original musical score compliments the film exceptionally as it draws upon emotion and supports the "...glance at a land that no longer exists"."
Nicole Carere
Vancouver, BC, Canada


"
Yanuv Barzilay clearly did not find what he expected to find in Gaza:
no militant settlers, no demonstrations, no barricades against the upcoming turnover. What he did find is surprising: a land that is, at first glance, eerily ordinary.
Yet Yanuv Barzilay once again demonstrates his ability to see beyond the surface as he captures the ghost-town-like dislocation of a land in shock, teetering between denial, muted rage and resignation. Israeli settlements are largely abandoned; those who remain are shrouded in distrust.
One feels one is driving though villages ravaged by a plague. The sense of loss hangs heavy in the rotting tomatoes, the ripped Israeli flags, the unspoken words. Is it a graveyard or a powder keg? The viewer can't decide.
Yet the lingering images are those of the innocent smiles of the Palestinian children in Rafah and of the communal sense of loss etched on the faces of both Israelis and Palestinian workers - images of what was and what could have been. Yanuv Barzilay has given us a once-in-a-lifetime documentary of a time and place few of us have ever seen and can never see again."
Meg Johnstone
Journalist
Vancouver, BC, Canada


"Powerful and challenging film. Great music." 
Rabbi Shmuel Birnham
West Vancouver, BC, Canada




























-----------------------------------------------------------------------
travel to Surreal's World Premiere supported by:

 


"Gripping!"
Jessica Zwaiman
Director of Programming
Discovery Channel Kids Latin America
Miami, Florida, USA



"Absolutely astounding. Riviting."
Reg Oldershaw
World War 2 Vet
Sunshine Coast, BC, Canada


"a meditation on an incredible event – two travelers striving for some understanding. You’ve taken a delicate and complex situation and put us literally in the driver’s seat. The style of photography, the drift of the music, the faces of the many people you encountered en route make Surreal a wonderful and provocative experience."
Peter Smith 
Writer, Producer
Toronto, ON, Canada


"
Surreal has given us a "real-time" insight and overview of the situation in the Gaza without the sensationalism that we see on T.V.
It's heartbreaking that people have been uprooted from their homes, their lives put in limbo, and a flourishing agricultural industry totally decimated with little hope of any positive outcome from the pull-out.
This film made me feel so sad about the situation in Israel and the sacrifices and compromises we're continually making in the hopes of finding peace. I don't see it ever happening
.
The music was excellent.
I found it haunting and quite beautiful
!.
Debbie Goldberg
Vancouver, BC, Canada



"it was truly a surreal experience... seeing all these beautiful neighborhoods turning from hopeful, budding, thriving, communities into ghost-towns and ultimately into heaps of scrap...
one cannot help but feel extreme sadness. All the financial resources, efforts that got washed down the drain with people's dreams and lives...
the music contributed to the surrealness of the movie.
Iris Colyn
Burnaby, BC, Canada


"My heart pounded when I recognized the place from our earlier tour.
It was, without stretching your point - Surreal.
You continue to amaze me." 
Carl Chaplin
Air Brash Artist

Vancouver, BC, Canada


"Thank you very much for making us part of your journey in Israel.
It aroused in me feelings of impotence, of sadness, of questioning myself: What, we humans, are omitting; what, we humans, haven't yet being able to understand that provokes that many misdoings, disorder,
and confusion in our lives.
Do we, the human race, build to destroy to build again in an interminable chain? At the end what is the lesson we have really learned and applied?
Love for all of us, the Human Race." 

Lilia Chavarria
Vancouver, BC, Canada



"
Yeseher Coah for a very thought provoking film. It certainly was surreal and very evocative and haunting. It gave me a glimpse of an Israel that I have never seen."
David J. Litvak
Publicist, Writer

Vancouver, BC, Canada


"
Surreal was astounding, I for the first time was able to see your perspective, part Israeli and part Canadian. It gave me a new appreciation for being in the Gaza strip
I felt that it was a fantastic opportunity to see it as it was at that time..." 
Kevin Michael Martin
Filmmaker
Vancouver, BC, Canada





 

 

 

 

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