The Disappeared

Summary

"The Disappeared" follows the story of an action-feature film produced by the Israeli Army in 2000 and then censored just a few weeks before its release. Titled Hane'elam (The Disappeared) in Hebrew, the original film was intended to address a contentious subject in Israeli society and one of the military's absolute taboos – the rising number of soldier suicides. The ambitious production was of a scope rarely seen in the local film industry at the time and included hundreds of soldier-extras, an entire armored brigade, military helicopters, and special operations personnel. With a lavish budget and a cast of leading Israeli actors, shooting commenced in multiple locations around the country, among them also a top-secret missile base. Soon after editing began and preparations for its commercial, nation-wide distribution were underway, "The Disappeared" disappeared.

Today the film in and of itself is only available via the recollections of the individuals who took part in its creation, revealing the elusive history of a forbidden image. "The Disappeared" conjures up the story of a film that was denied the right of appearance and left to languish in the limbo of censorship.

Source: 68. Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin (Catalogue)