Shane Slater
As the nominations voting period for the Oscars beckons, one of the films to look out for is Hilla Medalia’s Children No More: Were and Are Gone. Shortlisted for Best Documentary Short, this film is a gutting look at the work of a silent activist group in Israel, who hold up the names and photos of Palestinian children killed in Gaza. As tensions rise surrounding their actions, it’s a sobering reminder of the urgency of this ongoing struggle. Recently, Awards Radar spoke with Medalia to discuss the context behind the filmmaking and its important message.
Shane Slater: How did you learn about this group and what led to making a film about about their protests?
Hilla Medalia: I’m based in Tel Aviv, and these past two years have been very challenging. But, of course, it’s non-comparable. But I live in Tel Aviv, and you always think of what you’re gonna do. How are you not going to be complicit, and what do you have to do? And when I saw this vigil, I was really moved. And I was really moved by how standing silence is so strong. It’s almost like a real scream.
When I remember the first time that we went, it was just so strong and it really moved me. And I felt that it’s a great story to tell. It’s a great story, but also I felt it’s a really important message, and there are so many layers of message within the vigil, and the reaction of people to the vigil, you know? And the bravery of the people that are doing the vigil. There are so many layers that this touches upon. So I really wanted to make the film and to tell the story and hopefully use it also for change.
SS: One of the most haunting things for me is the fact that some of these children were killed without leaving behind a photo. Considering this atmosphere of denial in Israel, how did you and the protesters approach portraying this aspect?
HM: First of all, it’s important to understand that we don’t see in Israel what you see outside. I mean, we don’t see what happened in Gaza for a year. There was like nothing. Now, there are a few outlets that are showing it but even that is very limited. And it’s not censored like in other places in the world, like in North Korea. It’s really self-censorship. It’s really journalists. I mean, I’m very upset about journalists who are preferring not to touch or give us this message. It’s really non-existent.
And therefore people are blind, you know? And when you see those kids, it’s, it’s extremely upsetting. It almost seems like a betrayal. But then, of course, it’s very moving to know that these activists are doing so much work to get even a photo of the kids who are killed in Gaza because for some of them, a whole family was killed. Or there are no traces of anything.
In the film, we kept this scene where they made a decision one time to do a video where they actually draw those flowers to commemorate them because actually, they have less pictures of kids than the ones who don’t have pictures. But they realized that one of the strengths in the vigil is actually seeing the face of a child. So that’s why this scene is there, to also explain that the photos are actually a drop in the sea of the numbers.
There is something that when you see a picture of a child, you feel it. Sometimes when the numbers are so big, it’s very hard to grasp or to feel it. But when you see a picture of a child, you can really connect.
SS: I think we expect empathy for children, but that final protest we see in the film gets very heated. How did you prepare for that? Were you expecting such a backlash?
HM: It’s interesting that actually, even before the war, there has been mass protest against this government. And when they started the vigil, they started it inside this kind of anti-government protest. And the focus of the protest was also to stop the war, but for different reasons – to stop the war, to return the hostages, to return of the soldiers – because this war doesn’t make sense, but not because there are innocent Palestinians who are being killed.
So this message, they basically introduced to this space. And at first it created a lot of emotion. But what’s interesting is actually that slowly, people joined them. So from being 15 or 20 women standing with the photos, it became like 1000. And every week it grows. And then at one point, they felt that within this space, they wanted to expand their impact. So they started to move outside of the space to just the regular public spaces.
I didn’t think it would be so bad. They did think so, and they were preparing. So they planned. They spoke to the people who were standing, they had a whole plan of what to do and how to handle it. And it was really interesting to see that it was really so bad. It’s so interesting because really, all you see in the film is about everything that we shot, because the whole video from beginning to end was 20 minutes. It was so difficult.
When they moved outside of this area for the first time, I didn’t expect it to be so tense. And I didn’t expect the reaction that they’re getting. Really, people look at them as if they are betraying. But they were ready. And the whole event, the whole vigil, was so quick. I think it was like 20 minutes from the minute they met everybody, until they stood, until they left, and it was so tense. It evokes so many hard emotions.
And then they realized they really need to go outside of this bubble and to expand. And they started going to different places. Of course, they don’t want the friction, because they’re silent, you know? And they don’t want to have this confrontation. In the film, we try to really have this notion of silence. So the film has a lot of really quiet moments. And also, to me, it’s so strong when you see someone just standing really quietly, and someone is screaming and saying horrible things, but they don’t say anything to them. They continue to stand.
I think there is something also there to learn that is bigger and actually transcends beyond just this conflict. About how we are so divided on so many topics in so many places in the world, and how it’s really torn, and how we cannot listen to each other or talk or see or feel compassion to the other. So there are so many layers with this quiet vigil.
SS: What was it like navigating that environment as a filmmaker? The camera feels very close and intimate.
HM: Our DP Avner Shahaf, is really extraordinary in doing this vérité style, understanding where exactly he needs to be, because everything was happening so fast. And on the other hand, when it’s quiet, to be able to capture those beautiful shots. To really try to bring to the screen the feeling of this vigil. I don’t think the people who were against the vigil and the activists were against us. I felt that they wanted to say what they have to say. They’re not ashamed of what they said to the protesters. They think that the the vigil and the people who are standing with those photos needs to be ashamed. And I must say that some people that I share the film with felt that they are expressing what they feel.
Obviously, I needed to get permission from everybody. There was one woman who agreed that I filmed her but didn’t want her face to be seen. So we filmed her from afar. But also, she was more thoughtful. It was not like someone who just went there and cursed them. She wanted to have a deep conversation about why they even do it, and why they don’t feel compassion to their own people, and why they only show the Palestinians and things like that.
And to me, it was really strong to think about our place within something. It’s so easy to say, “What can I do? I can’t really stop the horror. I can’t really stop the war.” And I feel that actually, what they’re doing is very effective. It’s a small drop, but it’s also, to me, a call for action for everyone, because every little helps, and I have to believe that little by little it will create an impact.
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