VENICE (Reuters) – Hard-hitting Israeli war movie “Lebanon” won the Golden Lion for best picture at the Venice film festival on Saturday.
Director Samuel Maoz shot almost the entire film from inside a tank to communicate the claustrophobia and fear he experienced as a young Israeli conscript during the 1982 war.
He was so traumatized by his memories that it took him 25 years to gather the strength to make the movie, which the New York Times called “an astonishing piece of cinema.”
“I dedicate this award to the thousands of people all over the world who, like me, come back from war safe and sound,” the director told the audience at the 11-day cinema showcase’s glitzy closing ceremony.
“Apparently they are fine … but inside, the memory will remain stabbed in their soul.”
The victory will be popular among critics, who had made Lebanon one of the favorites to pick up the coveted award.
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